FORT WORTH, TX — The Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System, established by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has more than 350 reports of hyperglycemia post-influenza vaccine, according to a new study.
A report in Annals of Pharmacotherapy pointed out that only one case report has been published detailing unusual post-vaccination hyperglycemia. Researchers from the University of North Texas College of Pharmacy in Fort Worth and including participation from the South Texas VA Healthcare System in San Antonio advised that the mechanism for why hyperglycemia might occur post-vaccination has not been fully revealed.1
The study team set out to identify hyperglycemia within the first 24 hours after influenza vaccine, and also to identify the transient properties of hyperglycemia within four days after vaccine.
Recruitment for the multicenter prospective cohort study occurred throughout San Antonio during the 2018-2020 influenza seasons. Adult patients were included if they had diabetes mellitus and were currently checking their blood glucose daily. Excluded were patients who had a recent medication change that would affect their blood glucose readings.
Researchers measured participants’ hemoglobin A1c and blood glucose prior to vaccination with a single dose (0.5 mL) of the tri-valent influenza vaccine intramuscularly. Glucose readings were collected within 24 hours post-vaccination and subsequent mornings for 4 days.
Of the 34 patients included, the average patient age was 75 years, with 60% white, 30% Black, and 10% Hispanic. Median fasting glucose pre-vaccination was found to be significantly lower than the median value 0 to 24 hours post-vaccination (140 vs 203 mg/dL, P < 0.0001), according to the researchers.
“Hyperglycemia was noted 0 to 24 hours post-vaccination and was transient in nature with a return to baseline by post-vaccination day,” the authors pointed out. “This trial was conducted to close a potential gap in counseling regarding the flu vaccine and decrease any potential concern surrounding the vaccine in patients with diabetes that could lead to reduced vaccination rates.”
- Hulsizer AL, Witte AP, Attridge RL, Urteaga EM. Hyperglycemia Post-Influenza Vaccine in Patients With Diabetes. Ann Pharmacother. 2022 Jun 2:10600280221098101. doi: 10.1177/10600280221098101. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35652701.
