Vaccinations Do Not Increase Graft Rejection Risk in Corneal Transplant Recipients: Study

A comprehensive study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology suggest that vaccinations do not significantly increase the risk of corneal graft rejection among transplant recipients. This research from Kaiser Permanente Southern California spanned from January 2008 to August 2022. This study by Jennifer H. Ku involved the examination of the health records of a total of 601 corneal transplant recipients who experienced graft rejection and matched them with 1,803 controls.

Corneal transplantation (also known as keratoplasty) is a surgical procedure that replaces a damaged or diseased cornea with healthy donor tissue. One of the main complications following this surgery is the graft rejection. And so this study evaluated whether receiving vaccinations within 12 weeks prior to the index date of graft rejection could be a contributing factor to this major complication.

The key findings of the study were;

Approximately 23% of the cases and 22% of the controls received one or more vaccinations within the 12-week period leading up to the index date. The adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were calculated to measure the association between receiving vaccinations and experiencing a graft rejection. The results showed that the overall risk did not increase significantly after vaccination, with an aOR of 1.17 (95% CI: 0.91, 1.50).

A more detailed analysis revealed that the aOR was 1.09 for individuals who received one vaccination, 1.53 for those who received two vaccinations, and 1.79 for those who received three or more. Additionally, the study evaluated the impact of different types of vaccines, including mRNA vaccines and adjuvanted or high-dose vaccines. The aOR for mRNA vaccines was 1.60, while for adjuvanted or high-dose vaccines the aOR was 1.19.

These findings are crucial as they suggest that completing recommended vaccinations poses no significant risk to corneal graft viability. This research supports the ongoing vaccination of corneal transplant recipients. We believe that maintaining vaccination schedules is crucial for this population, without increasing the risk of corneal graft rejection. The outcomes of this study provide critical data that can help guide clinical decisions regarding the vaccination of corneal transplant recipients. Overall, these results reassure that adhering to recommended vaccination schedules is a safe practice which should not be deferred.

Reference:

KU, J. H., NANJI, A. A., TUBERT, J. E., JOE, C., SRIKUMARAN, D., WINTHROP, K. L., BRUNTON, A. E., FLOREA, A., FRAUNFELDER, F., TSENG, T., & LUO, Y. (2024). Risk of Corneal Graft Rejection and Vaccination: A Matched Case-Control Study From a United States Integrated Health Care System. In American Journal of Ophthalmology (Vol. 263, pp. 133–140). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2024.02.015