Amid the rising cases of coronavirus all across the world, COVID-19 vaccination is the only way to be safe at this time. Though vaccination is considered to be safe for most people some of them develop allergic reactions after receiving the shots.
Among the side effects body ache, swelling at the injection site and low-grade fever are common which disappears within a couple of days. But there are some fatal complications after vaccination that can to occur. One of the rare complications is blood clotting in the brain that is reportedly experienced by a miniscule percentage of vaccine recipients. This kind of blood clotting is known as cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and it can lead to strokes and even death.
According to a research published in The Lancet, it has been reported that this is the most detailed account of the characteristics of CVT, when it is caused by the novel condition vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).
However, researchers at the University College London conducted a study of people with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) following COVID-19 vaccination, to provide a clearer guide for clinicians trying to detect and treat these patients.
What exactly is CVT?
VITT is a condition that is characterised by a blockage of the veins and a marked reduction of platelets, blood components that are an important part of the blood clotting system.
The most common and severest manifestation of VITT is CVT in these veins draining blood from the brain to become blocked.
Here are Three principles of treatment for CVT:
The researchers for the purpose of the study, from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, looked at the details at 70 patients with VITT-associated CVT following vaccination. They compared these patients to 25 patients with CVT but without any proof or evidence of VITT.
The study provides support for the three principles of treatment established so far by the Expert Hematology Panel, based on early work at UCL and two other European sites.
- The use of non-heparin-based anticoagulation
- Administer treatments to try to reduce the level of the abnormal antibody that is implicated in this condition
- Avoid the strategy of trying to bring the platelet count back up to normal levels by giving platelet transfusions.