Cent Eur J Public Health 2023, 31(2):110-114 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a7426

Detection of axillary lymphadenopathy after Covid-19 vaccination during breast examination: Case series and review of the literature after one year

Lucia Veverková1, 2, Beatrice Mohelníková-Duchoňová3, Zuzana Sedláčková1, Ľubica Löwová1, Ivan Šišola1
1 Department of Radiology, University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
2 Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
3 Department of Oncology, University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate accidental findings of axillary lymphadenopathy during breast examination. Postvaccination axillary lymphadenopathy is a possible cause of adenopathies but these findings used to be exceedingly rare. Nowadays, after Covid-19 vaccination it is found more often. Covid-19 vaccination started at the end of December 2020 with two types of vaccine, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech in the Czech Republic. The aim of this article is to present a single centre experience with Covid-19 lymphadenopathy during the general vaccination in the Czech population and summarization of recommendations.

Methods: In January to February 2021 ultrasound revealed axillary lymphadenopathy in several patients during breast examination in our certified centre. In four of them it was concluded as lymphadenopathy after Covid-19 vaccination. A search (using databases PubMed and Google Scholar) of the available literature for the years 2020 and 2021 was performed.

Results: These four patients were examined during the first two months of 2021. In all of them pathological lymph nodes with typical sonographic signs were seen in the ipsilateral axilla. We searched the literature for follow-up recommendations and summarized them in our article.

Conclusion: Accidental findings of axillary lymphadenopathy during ultrasound breast examination will be more often. There will be more cases of lymphadenopathy with an increasing number of people being vaccinated against Covid-19.

Keywords: Covid-19, vaccination, axilla, lymphadenopathy, lymph node, ultrasonography

Received: April 7, 2022; Revised: June 11, 2023; Accepted: June 11, 2023; Published: June 30, 2023  Show citation

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Veverková L, Mohelníková-Duchoňová B, Sedláčková Z, Löwová Ľ, Šišola I. Detection of axillary lymphadenopathy after Covid-19 vaccination during breast examination: Case series and review of the literature after one year. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2023;31(2):110-114. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a7426. PubMed PMID: 37451243.
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