Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can affect multiple organs and systems, including the endocrine system. Its symptoms can last for months, resulting in post-COVID-19 conditions, among others. A small number of patients have central adrenal insufficiency (CAI) months after recovery from COVID-19; nevertheless, its pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated. The insulin tolerance test (ITT) is a gold standard test assessing the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) test is useful for differentiating CAI into secondary (pituitary) and tertiary (hypothalamic) adrenal insufficiency. We present a case of new-onset CAI in a young female patient who had no medical history other than COVID-19. Adrenocorticotropin hormone and cortisol responded poorly to both insulin-induced hypoglycemia and CRH administration. These findings suggest that the pituitary gland may be the primary site of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal dysfunction, although magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary gland was unremarkable. To our knowledge, this is possibly the first and only case report of new-onset secondary adrenal insufficiency after recovery from COVID-19 in which the ITT and the CRH test were performed and highly suggestive for the pathogenesis of not only post-COVID-19 CAI but also post-COVID-19 conditions.
While undergoing treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CV), a 53year-old male contracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), resulting in a disease flare. Although HCV became negative due to the use of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir, CV remained uncontrolled, and the patient was treated with prednisolone, azathioprine, colchicine, and rituximab. He had not been vaccinated against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). He was infected with SARS-CoV-2, likely the omicron variant, and developed a severe illness. However, mechanical ventilation and the administration of remdesivir, dexamethasone, unfractionated heparin, and tocilizumab improved his respiratory failure. Despite improvement in respiratory failure, the patient's skin lesions and peripheral neuropathy rapidly worsened, followed by the development of intestinal ischemia, which led to death. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of acute exacerbation immediately after SARS-CoV-2 infection of HCV-associated CV on immunosuppressive therapy.
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