Avascular necrosis in Covid-19 patients due to steroids

After the mucormycosis or black fungus outbreak, Covid-19 patients are reportedly developing another condition called avascular necrosis, or death of bone tissues.

Patients tend to develop avascular necrosis after their Covid-19 treatment. As of now, at least three scientifically-confirmed cases of avascular necrosis have been reported from Mumbai and doctors fear more cases will be seen in forthcoming months.

Both mucormycosis and avascular necrosis develop due to the use of steroids, which is said to be the only drug that helps Covid-19 patients.

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The three avascular necrosis patients who developed the condition after getting treated for Covid-19 were under 40 years. They were treated at Hinduja Hospital, Mahim. “They developed pain in their femur bone,” Sanjay Agarwala, medical director, Hinduja Hospital, told The Times of India.

Agarwala’s study on these cases, ‘Avascular necrosis as a part of long Covid-19’, was published in BMJ Case Studies. In the study, he has highlighted that these patients had a lower threshold for the steroids while reporting the disease earlier than usual.

They were given 758 mg of corticosteroid prednisolone, which is lesser than the dose (200mg) known to trigger avascular necrosis. While it takes six months to a year for one to develop this condition, he said, “These patients developed early AVN at a mean of 58 days after their diagnosis.”