Clinical Effects of BNT162b2 Vaccine on the Short-Term Course of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria Patients

BACKGROUND: The clinical effects of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; BNT162b2) vaccine on the clinical course of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is unclear. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical effects of BNT162b2 vaccine on the clinical course of CSU. METHODS: In this study, 90 CSU patients vaccinated with one or two repeated doses of BNT162b2 vaccine were included. Urticaria Activity Score over 28 days (UAS28), Urticaria Control Test (UCT), Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire (CU-Q2oL), and Medication Scores (MSs) were obtained before the vaccination, 28 days after the first and, if available, after the second dose of BNT162b2 vaccine. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory features were compared between the subjects with exacerbated (group A) and non-exacerbated (group B) disease activity. RESULTS: Among the 90 study participants, 14 (15.5%) experienced exacerbations in their urticarial activity after the first or repeated doses of BNT162b2 vaccinations. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory features were similar between the exacerbated and non-exacerbated CSU patients. However, the rate of adverse reactions within 48 hours, such as hives, injection site reactions and wheals lasting <1 hour, were significantly higher in group A than in group B (P = 0.004, P < 0.001, P = 0.001, P = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: BNT162b2 vaccination caused an exacerbation in 15.5% of CSU patients during the short-term follow-up. The long-term evaluation can be informative about the lasting effects of BNT162b2 vaccine on the clinical course of CSU patients.