An otherwise healthy male developed COVID-19 disease after the use of anabolic steroid: The second case report

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 disease is considered a highly risky pandemic which led to more victims during the last two years. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 32 athlete male patient who presented with covid-19 symptoms. Past medical history was unremarkable except for oxandrolone (an anabolic steroid) 30/day for bodybuilding 21 days before the presentation. He reported that his symptoms developed rapidly in the past two days. After taking patient consent, we started the treatment with a single dose of anti-androgen (proxlatumide 400 mg) followed by 200 mg daily for one week. There was no need for hospital admission. On-call follow-up showed a marked response with resolving of most symptoms. Follow-up for six weeks later demonstrated a full recovery. DISCUSSION: Using anabolic androgen steroids have been considered a risk factor for developing pneumonia. With the wide use between bodybuilders, many reports showed a link between the use of such drugs and COVID-19 disease. Anti-androgen drugs may lead to resolution of the symptoms. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the second case reporting the link between anabolic steroids use and covid-19 disease severity.