Potential risk for developing severe COVID-19 disease among anabolic steroid users

A severe case of COVID-19 was observed in an otherwise healthy 28-year-old man who had taken oxandrolone 40mg/day as an anabolic steroid. The patient had been taking oxandrolone for enhanced bodybuilding 30 days prior to presenting to an outpatient clinic with COVID-19 symptoms. The patient reported that his symptoms have rapidly worsened over the course of 4days prior to presenting at the clinic. As part of an experimental antiandrogen treatment for hyperandrogenic men suffering from COVID-19, he was administered a single 600mg dose of the novel antiandrogen proxalutamide. Twenty-fourhours after administration of this dose, marked improvement of symptoms and markers of disease severity were observed. To our knowledge, this is the first case that potentially links anabolic steroid use to COVID-19 disease severity.

Automated summary

A 28-year-old man developed severe COVID-19 symptoms after taking the anabolic steroid oxandrolone for bodybuilding purposes. However, a marked improvement in symptoms and disease severity was observed after receiving a single dose of the novel antiandrogen proxalutamide, which is part of an experimental treatment for hyperandrogenic men with COVID-19. This case potentially links anabolic steroid use to COVID-19 disease severity.