A Case with Avascular Bone Necrosis Developing as a Complication of COVID-19 Treatment

Abstract

As our knowledge and experience of COVID-19 increases, our treatment approaches may change. For patients with respiratory failure due to COVID-19 disease, the disease table can be better controlled with systemic glucocorticoids, and mortality rates and hospitalization periods can also be reduced. Steroid therapy can be applied for the long-term, especially in cases with organized pneumonia, and patients can be discharged from hospital with maintenance treatment. Complications have been noted in patients in the post-COVID period resulting from the use of glucocorticoids. While mostly bacterial and fungal lung infections are seen, another side-effect of glucocorticoids is their negative effect on bone metabolism. We present here a case in which avascular bone necrosis developed as a result of long-term steroid use for the treatment of COVID-19.