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The cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) that occurs as part of the rare adverse reaction to the adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccines from Astra Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson is much more severe and associated with greater mortality and disability than sporadic CVT, new data show.
The UK study also provides more details of how the vaccine-associated CVT differs from the sporadic form in terms of presenting characteristics and responses to therapies, providing updated guidance for doctors on how to identify and treat the condition.
The two adenoviral vector COVID-19 vaccines have been associated with a condition characterized by severe venous thrombosis with thrombocytopenia, which has been named vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) and has been found to be linked to the generation of antiplatelet factor 4 (PF4) antibodies in response to the vaccine. CVT is a frequent and severe manifestation of VITT.
The new UK study was presented at the virtual European Stroke Organisation Conference on September 2 by lead investigator, Richard Perry, PhD, University College London, England. It was also recently published online in The Lancet.
"This is the first large study focusing on CVT associated with the COVID-19 vaccination and how it differs from sporadic CVT," Perry noted.
