Age: 63.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Cerebrovascular accident, Computerised tomogram, Dysarthria, Dysgraphia, Gait inability
Clinical narrative: Stroke; MRI showed Pontine Stroke; left arm was weak; her writing looked like a baby's scribble/she cannot write or type; arm was sore; she sounded different; they said her speech sounded slurred; was prediabetic before her hospitalization with her number (A1c) usually being 6.5-6.8. She added that when she was in the hospital it was 7.4; was not able to walk at first; her arm was cold; This is a spontaneous report from a contactable consumer (patient) reported that a 63-year-old female patient received the second dose of BNT162B2 (PFIZER-BIONTECH COVID-19 VACCINE, lot number: EN6198), via an unspecified route of administration on 24Feb2021 08:00 (at the age of 63-years-old) as a single dose for covid-19 immunisation. The vaccine was administered at the hospital. The patient medical history included high blood pressure that was diagnosed 2-3 years ago, diabetes; she was prediabetic, heart;cholesterol has been high for about 30 years; since she was in her 30s; all from an unknown date and ongoing. The patient previously received the first dose of BNT162B2 (PFIZER-BIONTECH COVID-19 VACCINE, lot number: EL3247) on 02Feb2021 (at the age of 63-years-old) for covid-19 immunization. The patient had no prior vaccination in four weeks. Concomitant medications included rosuvastatin taken for blood cholesterol and takes 20mg once a day prior to stroke and in the hospital they increased it to 40mg once a day and ongoing; ramipril taken for blood pressure and she was prescribed with this medication for a while prior to her stroke. It was discontinued in the hospital. Stated that she did not take it everyday because she was allergic to it; and sitagliptin (JANUVIA [SITAGLIPTIN]) taken for diabetes from an unspecified start date and ongoing and stated that she has been taking for quite a while. On 24Feb2021 she had her second shot. She said that everything was fine that morning; that afternoon her arm was sore. Stated she thought nothing of it. That evening she entertained guest. They were saying she sounded different; they said her speech sounded slurred. She had gotten her vaccine at around 08:00. Again, she didn't think anything about her speech. On 25Feb2021, she got up and did some laundry going up and down the steps. Stated that it was difficult because her arm was still sore. She cleaned the house. At around 15:30 she was doing bills and noticed that her writing looked like a baby's scribble. On 26Feb2021, she noticed that her left arm was weak and was told by her doctor to go to the Emergency Room where they told her she had a stroke. She added that it seemed like her arm was cold for a number of weeks. Stated she was the type to wear t-shirts in the winter because she was always hot. During those weeks she was wearing heavy clothes and was under blankets. She was just now starting to feel more like herself and not so cold all the time. The patient was unable to recall time frame when this symptom began. The events did require a visit to emergency room and physician office. The patient was hospitalized for 4 days due to the events from 26Feb2021 to 01Mar2021. During hospitalization, the patient saw a cardiologist, neurologist, her primary care provider, and the hospitalists who all said it was very suspicious that her stroke happened right after her vaccine. Before she got her second vaccine, she was doing embroidery and everything she normally does; nothing was wrong. They did a CAT Scan that showed nothing. Then the MRI of the brain showed a Pontine Stroke on 26Feb2021. Cardiologist put a heart monitor on her and could not find anything. They were looking for A-Fib or something like that when she was on the heart monitor in the hospital; but it never showed anything irregular. She had a loop recorder implanted to monitor her heart and they haven't found anything wrong on it. She had heart tests, carotid artery tests, ultrasound of her heart and nothing was found on those tests. They pretty much told her in the hospital that they couldn't find a reason for her stroke. She kept asking about the vaccine. They did not rule it out as a cause, but they also did not say it was the cause. All the doctors said they could not pin her stroke on the vaccine. They stated it was suspicious and that they had seen 2-3 other patients with a similar situation. One of the doctor's told her he would not rule it out. They did an ultrasound of her carotids and heart and did not find anything on those tests that would have caused her stroke. She was having lasting effects related to her stroke. Her arm was still sore at times, stated it was a different kind of sore and could be related to all the therapy she does now. The lingering effects after stroke was reported as she was not able to walk at first. She's been doing therapy focused on her left side. Stated that her left side was the dominant side and she cannot write or type. She couldn't do the report online due to the difficulty with typing. She wanted to make sure this was reported. The patient has been doing therapy for 7 weeks, twice a day; and stated she likely still has months more of therapy to try and get her left side back to normal. She said that simple daily duties are difficult. The patient also stated that she was prediabetic before her hospitalization with her number (A1c) usually being 6.5-6.8. She added that when she was in the hospital it was 7.4. She doesn't know what made it go up. Then states she doesn't know if the vaccine made it go up or not. She has a follow up with the neurologist soon. The patient also reported medications she has been taking since her stroke and hospitalization; but not prior to her vaccine which included Amlodipine-Benazepril:  5-20mg once a day and Aspirin: 325mg once a day. The patient stated that stroke and heart problems do not run in her family. The outcome of the events was unknown.