908 - A Case of Vaccine-Induced Adhesive Capsulitis Secondary to Parsonage-Turner Syndrome

Thursday, February 19, 2026

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM AST

Presenting Author(s)

KA

Kavya Arvind, MHA

Medical Student
kavyaarvind@gmail.com
Brooklyn, New York, United States

Corresponding Author(s)

NK

Nimah Khan, n/a

Medical Student
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso
Plano, Texas, United States
MT

Mason Tincher, DO

Resident
Baylor University Medical Center
Dallas, Texas, United States
AR

Ali Rauf, DO

Resident
Baylor University Medical Center
Dallas, Texas, United States
OS

Omar Selod, DO

Physician
PMR Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Submitter(s)

KA

Kavya Arvind, MHA

kavyaarvind@gmail.com
Brooklyn, New York, United States

Case Diagnosis: Pneumococcal Vaccine-Induced Parsonage-Turner Syndrome Presenting with Adhesive Capsulitis and De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis

Case Description: A 49-year-old female presents with intense left arm pain that began the day after she received the Prevnar vaccine two years prior. In the months following the vaccination, the patient’s left arm pain progressed to weakness in the left upper extremity, specifically in left shoulder abduction (4/5). The patient also complains of exquisite left thumb pain, worse with thumb abduction, and nocturnal numbness in her left arm. Physical exam revealed a limitation of passive and active shoulder abduction to 120 degrees and 90 degrees, respectively. Positive Finkelstein’s test was also noted. Meloxicam was prescribed and an electromyogram (EMG) and MRI of the cervical spine, left shoulder, and left wrist were ordered.

EMG was unremarkable for the left upper extremity. Cervical spine MRI revealed well-maintained intervertebral disc spaces without signs of herniation, stenosis, or other abnormal lesions. MRI of the left shoulder and wrist were also unremarkable.

Discussions: The patient’s history of left arm neuropathy within 24 hours of vaccination, followed by reduced active and passive shoulder range of motion in the absence of positive EMG or MRI findings, aligns with a diagnosis of adhesive capsulitis secondary to vaccine-induced Parsonage-Turner Syndrome (PTS). The additional evidence of a positive Finkelstein’s test confirms an accompanying diagnosis of left hand De Quervain’s tenosynovitis.

Only one other case of PTS secondary to a pneumococcal vaccine has been previously documented. Vaccine-induced PTS is typically self-limiting, so its provocation of adhesive capsulitis and presentation alongside De Quervain’s tenosynovitis make this case highly unusual.

Conclusions: Given that PTS can closely mimic cervical radiculopathies, rotator cuff tears, and peripheral impingements of the brachial plexus, this case underscores the importance of considering several potentially overlapping diagnoses which may obscure the true etiology.