HYDERABAD: Heavy use of corticosteroids for treatment of Covid-19 has led to a surge in previously rare side-effect on some patients with implants after joint surgeries.
While infection of the periprosthetic joints (implants) has been seen sometimes immediately after surgery, it’s rarely reported years after the operation. Joint replacement surgeons said that they were seeing around 10 such cases each month and attributed it to improper use of corticosteroids during the first wave of the pandemic.
“I have seen 16 cases of infections in the last one month, of these 10 are of unexpected nature, meaning unlikely candidates for infection. Except being exposed to Covid-19 and being treated with steroids, they were completely healthy, nondiabetic patients. Also, they did not have a history of lung infections or urinary tract infections, which are likely to cause sepsis (blood infections),” informed Dr Sai Laxman Anne, chief consultant orthopaedic and joint replacement surgeon at KIMS Hospitals.
The joints with implants suddenly become infected in some cases as the Covid-19 virus as well as corticosteroids used for treatment decreases immunity. The decreased immunity in turn could lead to bacterial infections which could infect the joints if carried through blood, doctors said.
