Bone death report in Mumbai, doctors predict it as a threat after Black fungus

Hinduja Hospital, Mahim, treated the three young (under 40) patients who developed necrosis two months after they were treated for COVID.

Mumbai: The mucormycosis cases are increasing in the country and in a new development, three confirmed cases of avascular necrosis or death of bone tissues after COVID-19 have been scientifically reported from Mumbai. Avascular Necrosis(AVN) could be the next debilitating condition among post-COVID patients after the outbreak of mucormycosis or black fungus two months back. Doctors fear that more cases of AVN are likely in the next few months. According to a report in a national daily, Hinduja Hospital, Mahim, treated the three young (under 40) patients who developed necrosis two months after they were treated for COVID. “These patients developed pain in their femur bone (the highest part of the thigh bone) and, since they were doctors, they recognized the symptoms and rushed for treatment,’’ said Dr. Sanjay Agarwala, medical director of Hinduja Hospital, Mahim, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The common factor between AVN and mucormycosis is the use of steroids, the only drug proven to help COVID-19 patients. Dr. Agarwala’s research paper, ‘Avascular necrosis as a part of long COVID-19’, was published on Saturday in the prestigious medical journal ‘BMJ Case Studies’. He said the “large-scale use of life-saving corticosteroids” in COVID-19 cases will result in a “resurgence of AVN cases”.