Long COVID-19: Causes of Bone Death and its Treatments

For many people who contracted the COVID-19 virus, they experienced a range of symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, loss of smell and taste, severe congestion among others. While the symptoms subsided for some as they recovered, others found trouble in dealing with the virus.

Long COVID-19 is the term that was coined in 2020 when many patients continued to experience symptoms after their initial recovery. This condition has also been called a post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Long COVID-19 has different effects on people as some may experience brain fog, fatigue or shortness of breath while others complain of joint pain, chest pain and cough. One of the conditions that were reported by doctors as part of Long COVID-19 was avascular necrosis (AVN) or bone death.

According to experts, avascular necrosis is a disease that is caused by temporary or permanent loss of blood supply to a bone. As the blood supply is cut off, the bone tissue dies, causing the bone to collapse. The condition is associated with long-term use of high-dose steroids while intake of alcohol also plays a role.

As per a study published in BMJ Case Reports, there are greater chances of a patient developing avascular necrosis post-COVID-19. These chances increase when the patient has been on steroid use.

When it comes to the treatment of avascular necrosis, the study claims that the objective is to provide relief to the patient, prevent collapse, retard disease progression and restore joint function. Many treatments are available for avascular necrosis but no standardised protocol exists.

The study claims that arthroplasty, which is a surgical procedure to restore the function of a joint, is quite effective in the treatment of arthroplasty. However, studies have shown that the use of bisphosphonates has also given significant positive outcomes and has been effective in retarding the progression of the disease. In Bisphosphonates treatment, a group of drugs is used to slow down the loss of bone. Although this process works slow, it saves the patient from undergoing surgery.

However, doctors advise that doing an MRI scan is wiser in case of avascular necrosis as it is the most sensitive and least invasive test to diagnose the condition. Moreover, when avascular necrosis is picked up early, it decreases the patient’s morbidity by bisphosphonate therapy. Hence, an MRI is advised on early suspicion of avascular necrosis.

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