Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome After Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Vaccination: Findings From an Autopsy

A male patient in his 80s was brought to our emergency room with a one-day history of general malaise and cough. He had received a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination seven days earlier. He initially presented with respiratory failure, and an alveolar hemorrhage was suspected. The patient was intubated and admitted to the intensive care unit. We suspected that the alveolar hemorrhage was caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Treatment including high-dose corticosteroid therapy and venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was initiated, however, the patient did not respond to treatment and died 35 days after admission. Pathological autopsy revealed diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) and idiopathic diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) consistent with ARDS. ARDS should be considered as a differential diagnosis when a patient develops respiratory symptoms after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.