As the pandemic keeps for a second year, there is a lot that we’re still getting to know about COVID-19 and the way it impacts the body. Some of the matters we were greater systematically documenting are the host of troubles that many have reported lingering post-COVID-19 – inclusive of chronic fatigue. Other things are how it makes some humans vulnerable to different ailments, such as depression and anxiety, mucormycosis, and now – avascular necrosis (AVN) or bone death cases if steroids were strongly used to deal with COVID-19.

AVN is a result of temporary or permanent lack of blood deliver to the bone. According to John Hopkins Medicine, the cut-off of blood delivery reasons the bone tissue to die, and whilst left untreated, can result in a collapse of the bone. While the situation can take place in any bone, AVN is common in the hip joint. More post-COVID-19 patients with prolonged steroid use for treatment are actually reporting AVN or bone death cases, doctors have observed. Dr.  Anand Jadhav, the Orthopaedic Specialist at Apollo Spectra Pune, says that out of the 10-15 AVN patients he’s seeing in step with month, 1/2 of are post-COVID-19 cases. It has to be cited though that the link between steroid use and AVN isn’t new. A study published in the Indian Journal of Orthopaedics in 2018 discovered that out of the 249 sufferers with AVN surveyed, in a maximum of them – 37.3% (93) – AVN was related to steroid administration, observed through unknown reasons (21.3%) and chronic alcohol consumption (20.1%).

The latest study anticipates AVN resurgence because of steroid use in COVID-19 treatment and studied 3 such cases. It discovered that the patients presented with AVN on an average of 58 days after COVID-19 diagnosis, even though preceding literature indicates that it typically takes six months to 12 months to increase AVN after steroid exposure. The study also noted that there isn’t consensus on the dosage and duration of steroids that result in AVN development.