Psychotic symptoms in COVID-19 patients. A retrospective descriptive study

Abstract

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Bidirectional associations between COVID-19 and psychiatric disorder: a study of 62,354 COVID-19 cases

“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted August 16, 2020. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.14.20175190 doi: medRxiv preprint 15/22 an insomnia diagnosis were also markedly elevated (HR 1⋅9-3⋅3), again in keeping with predictions that circadian disturbances will follow COVID-19 infection. In contrast, we did not find a clear signal for psychotic disorders despite case reports suggesting that this might occur 13,27 . Lastly, the 2-3 fold increased risk of dementia after COVID-19 extends findings from previous case series 13, 28 and is particularly concerning.…”

Cognitive and Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of COVID-19 and Effects on Elderly Individuals With Dementia

“…A surveillance study in the United Kingdom (UK) showed that 39 cases of a cohort of 125 COVID-19 hospitalized patients with neurological manifestations presented with altered mental status, with encephalopathy in 16 and neuropsychiatric syndromes in 23 of them, mostly new-onset psychosis (n = 10) or other related psychiatric disorders (n = 7) (Varatharaj et al, 2020). In line with this evidence, in a retrospective descriptive study from a hospital in Madrid, Spain, 10 patients with a lab-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and new-onset psychotic symptoms were identified among 10,000 patients with symptoms compatible with COVID-19 assessed between March and April 2020 in the emergency department (Parra et al, 2020). They had a mean age of 54.1 years, and psychiatric symptoms, mainly delusion, orientation/attention disturbances and auditory hallucination (in 10, 6, and 4 cases, respectively), appeared primarily after the first typical COVID-19 symptoms and were resolved in less than 2 weeks (Parra et al, 2020).…”

“…In line with this evidence, in a retrospective descriptive study from a hospital in Madrid, Spain, 10 patients with a lab-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and new-onset psychotic symptoms were identified among 10,000 patients with symptoms compatible with COVID-19 assessed between March and April 2020 in the emergency department (Parra et al, 2020). They had a mean age of 54.1 years, and psychiatric symptoms, mainly delusion, orientation/attention disturbances and auditory hallucination (in 10, 6, and 4 cases, respectively), appeared primarily after the first typical COVID-19 symptoms and were resolved in less than 2 weeks (Parra et al, 2020). These episodes were considered atypical since patients had no familiar history of psychiatric disorders, no substance use disorders, had an atypical age of onset, and presented a fast recovery (Parra et al, 2020).…”

“…They had a mean age of 54.1 years, and psychiatric symptoms, mainly delusion, orientation/attention disturbances and auditory hallucination (in 10, 6, and 4 cases, respectively), appeared primarily after the first typical COVID-19 symptoms and were resolved in less than 2 weeks (Parra et al, 2020). These episodes were considered atypical since patients had no familiar history of psychiatric disorders, no substance use disorders, had an atypical age of onset, and presented a fast recovery (Parra et al, 2020). Authors suggested that these atypical psychotic episodes may be explained by systemic inflammatory responses, based on analytical and complementary tests findings, or by side effects associated with COVID-19 treatment (Parra et al, 2020).…”

“…These episodes were considered atypical since patients had no familiar history of psychiatric disorders, no substance use disorders, had an atypical age of onset, and presented a fast recovery (Parra et al, 2020). Authors suggested that these atypical psychotic episodes may be explained by systemic inflammatory responses, based on analytical and complementary tests findings, or by side effects associated with COVID-19 treatment (Parra et al, 2020). Critically ill patients with COVID-19 who require Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission are also at most at risk of developing delirium, which is further exacerbated by the frequent need for high doses of sedation, elderly age and the presence of multiple comorbidities .…”