Age: 71.0
Sex: M
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Arthralgia, Arthritis, Arthroscopy, Blood test, Body height
Clinical narrative: he used to be 5 feet and 9.75 inches but he guesses he shrunk (he was 5 feet 8.5 inches or 5 feet 9 inches); stiffness in both knees; knee swelling is subtle; discomfort in his knees/knees got very very painful/when he would bend his knees he would have major pain; arthritis in both knees; This is a spontaneous report from a contactable consumer (patient).  A 71-year-old (also the age at time vaccination) male patient received bnt162b2 (PFIZER-BIONTECH COVID-19 VACCINE) via an unspecified route of administration on 25Apr2021 17:00 also reported as 17:00 to 17:30 (Batch/Lot Number: EW0170) as DOSE 2, SINGLE for COVID-19 immunization at the Pharmacy/drug store.  Medical history included borderline high blood pressure. It was reported that the patient he used to play football in 1967-1968 and he did have an injury to his left knee, a meniscus cartilage tear. He opted not to play football anymore because that injury would take 6-8 months to heal. When he was 25 years old (1974) he had some scar tissue from his meniscus cartilage injury. But that knee has never given him a problem. He did have a partial arthroscopy done on his right knee in 2000 and that knee hasn't given him any problems either. He's been using his legs his whole life, from playing football and working in the automotive field. He also had his motorcycle accident but that was years ago and caused some head trauma and a shoulder injury/trauma (torn rotator cuff in shoulder for years but it's been fine), mostly upper body injuries. He did have an issue with one of his ankles in 2007, maybe a gout attack (uric acid). He hasn't had an issue with his ankles since 2007. Concomitant medications included glucosamine (GLUCOSAMINE); vitamin c (VITAMIN C); zinc (ZINC); and lisinopril (LISINOPRIL) all taken for unspecified indications and therapy dates; and allopurinol sodium (ALLOPURINOL) for gout attack (uric acid) since unknown date.  The patient received the first dose of bnt162b2 (PFIZER-BIONTECH COVID-19 VACCINE) at the age of 71-years-old on 02Apr2021 at 12:00PM (Lot Number: ER8734) on the right shoulder for COVID-19 immunization.  With the first vaccine, he had some soreness at the injection site. He also thought that the technician who gave him the injection went in a little shallow and nailed his bursa in his shoulder. He had some discomfort but nothing he couldn't survive. He then had the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on 25Apr2021. About a week after the second injection (May2021) while he and his wife were heading home, he stopped at a hotel and he felt some stiffness in both knees. He jokingly said to his wife he was getting older and needs to walk more when he was filling up the gas tank on their way home. The patient stated that it felt like there was an ace bandage wrapped around his knees and the knee swelling was subtle. His knees don't look normal. His knees hurt all around the whole kneecap around on both sides.  The next morning, he still had some discomfort in his knees. He got back to Connecticut around 05Mar2021 or 06Mar2021 (as reported) and he noticed he was getting more discomfort in his knees and he had difficulty going up and down stairs. He couldn't go up or down stairs without using the handrail. When he would bend his knees, he would have major pain.  He saw his primary care doctor and the doctor said to give it some time. He stated his knees weren't perfect because he's older, but he was very flexible and in good shape. Prior to getting the COVID-19, vaccine going up and down stairs was no issue for him. He was stretching so he can handle larger steps and he uses his legs a lot in his business He also saw an orthopedic doctor who also didn't have any knowledge of joint reactions. He did have some X-rays of his knees done and it showed arthritis in both knees. The orthopedic doctor didn't have any knowledge of any special treatment or diagnostic information on this being a possible reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. The orthopedic doctor told the patient that he can receive standard procedures for treatment for his knees to help the symptoms like cortisone injections, gel injections, and PRP injections. But those treatments weren't covered by insurance. The patient would like to find out if there was another cause regarding his knees. He doesn't want to have a cortisone injection and 6 months later have his knees feel the same way. He talked to his doctor about seeing a rheumatologist and he was told he needed a referral. The rheumatologist ordered a panel of tests. The patient was concerned because weeks were turning into months and his knees were still bothering him. He called the rheumatologist last week to get his test results and he was told the rheumatologist didn't saw anything on the tests so he didn't need an appointment. He called his orthopedic doctor again and asked for a different rheumatologist or any other recommendations. He's was trying to find out if there was any information or any guidance or a direction for him to take to have his experience looked at or checked, any studies or ideas on how this was potentially treated. He read a lot and he looks at things and he saw an article from Yale about working on inflamed joints and he thinks it was related to the COVID 19 vaccine reactions. He thought that the COVID-19 vaccine did injure his knees because why would both knees hurt the same way and at the same time unless he had been pinned up against the wall by a car which he was not. He's also feeling extra stiffness in his ankles. He doesn't know if not being able to bend his knees was affecting his ankles. The patient also stated that he used to be 5 feet and 9.75 inches but he guesses he shrunk (he was 5 feet 8.5 inches or 5 feet 9 inches) noted on unknown date. The patient also had blood panel in 2021 with unknown results. Outcome of the event of body height decreased was unknown while the remaining events were not recovered.   Follow-up attempts are completed. No further information is expected..