Silent progressive bilateral papillitis after COVID-19 vaccination: A case report

We report the case of a patient who developed asymptomatic bilateral papillitis after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination.

A 61-year-old man presented to our tertiary clinic with bilateral optic disc edema, which was incidentally detected during his visit to a primary ophthalmology clinic. He had received an adenovirus-vectored COVID-19 vaccine 2 weeks before the optic disc edema was detected and had experienced no ocular discomfort, except for a floater in his right eye. Although his visual acuity was normal and he had no color vision deficiencies or marked visual field defects, the optic disc edema worsened over several days. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging showed no optic tract enhancement, and lumbar puncture revealed normal cerebrospinal fluid pressure. The patient tested negative for aquaporin-4 and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies and Leber hereditary optic neuropathy-associated gene mutations.

The patient was diagnosed with bilateral papillitis, possibly induced by the COVID-19 vaccination.

The patient received steroid pulse therapy with methylprednisolone (500 mg/day) for 3 days followed by an oral prednisolone taper for 3 weeks.

The patient's papillitis started to subside 3 weeks after he received systemic steroid therapy and completely resolved without any sequelae 2 months later. A year after the diagnosis, the fundus remained stable without disease recurrence or optic disc atrophy.

Healthy individuals receiving COVID-19 vaccines may present with various manifestations of optic neuritis. In the present case, the patient presented with asymptomatic progressive bilateral optic disc edema and had a favorable long-term course after receiving steroid therapy.