Large artery vasculitis following recombinant hepatitis B vaccination: 2 cases

We describe 2 women who developed large artery vasculitis shortly after rec eiving recombinant hepatitis B vaccination. One patient developed Takayasu' s arteritis, the other a vasculitis involving subclavian and renal arteries . Both developed renal failure. Whether the vasculitis was caused by the va ccination is not known. Although small vessel vasculitis following hepatiti s B vaccination has been reported a number of times, large vessel vasculiti s associated with hepatitis B vaccination has been reported only once. Thes e cases suggest that large artery vasculitis should be added to the list of possible side effects of hepatitis B vaccination.