Liaison Psychiatry During the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Description of Referrals and Interventions
Introduction: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the coronavirus family, a group of viruses that can cause upper respiratory infections in humans. Among other symptoms, it can present as an asymptomatic infection or as a more severe disease requiring hospitalization. Neuropsychiatric sympto...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-12-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.555080/full |
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author | Mayte López-Atanes Juan Pablo González-Briceño Adrián Abeal-Adham Sara Fuertes-Soriano Janire Cabezas-Garduño Álvar Peña-Rotella Margarita Sáenz-Herrero Margarita Sáenz-Herrero |
author_facet | Mayte López-Atanes Juan Pablo González-Briceño Adrián Abeal-Adham Sara Fuertes-Soriano Janire Cabezas-Garduño Álvar Peña-Rotella Margarita Sáenz-Herrero Margarita Sáenz-Herrero |
author_sort | Mayte López-Atanes |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Introduction: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the coronavirus family, a group of viruses that can cause upper respiratory infections in humans. Among other symptoms, it can present as an asymptomatic infection or as a more severe disease requiring hospitalization. Neuropsychiatric symptoms have been described in the acute phase of the illness and as long-term repercussions. We describe the characteristics and interventions in those COVID-19 patients referred to our liaison psychiatry service.Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. This study was carried out within the Department of Psychiatry of Cruces University Hospital (Basque Country, Spain). Data from each psychiatric consultation within our consultation-liaison service were consecutively obtained for 1 month from March 17 to April 17, 2020. We recruited data regarding clinical and referral characteristics and psychiatric interventions.Results: Of a total of 721 SARS-CoV-2 hospitalizations, 43 (5.6%) patients were referred to our psychiatry liaison service. The median age was 61 years old, and 62.8% were women. The infectious disease department was the most frequent petitioner (37.2%), and the most common reason for referral was patient anxiety (25.6%). A total of 67.4% of patients received psychological counseling and 55.8% received some pharmacological approach, with a median of 3.7 visits/calls per patient. In addition, 20.3% needed a medication switch due to potential interactions between psychotropics and drugs used to treat SARS-CoV-2.Discussion: In our study, up to 5.6% of SARS-CoV-2 hospitalized patients needed a psychiatric evaluation, especially for anxiety and mood symptoms. Psychosocial factors associated with the pandemic, drugs used to treat the infection, or a direct causative effect of the virus may explain our findings. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:12:53Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-838683a3e93648869185d691f21455b2 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1664-0640 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:12:53Z |
publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | Article |
series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
spelling | doaj.art-838683a3e93648869185d691f21455b22022-12-21T22:44:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402021-12-011210.3389/fpsyt.2021.555080555080Liaison Psychiatry During the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Description of Referrals and InterventionsMayte López-Atanes0Juan Pablo González-Briceño1Adrián Abeal-Adham2Sara Fuertes-Soriano3Janire Cabezas-Garduño4Álvar Peña-Rotella5Margarita Sáenz-Herrero6Margarita Sáenz-Herrero7Department of Psychiatry, Cruces University Hospital, Osakidetza-Basque Health Service, Barakaldo, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry, Cruces University Hospital, Osakidetza-Basque Health Service, Barakaldo, SpainDepartment of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Cruces University Hospital, Osakidetza-Basque Health Service, Barakaldo, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry, Cruces University Hospital, Osakidetza-Basque Health Service, Barakaldo, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry, Cruces University Hospital, Osakidetza-Basque Health Service, Barakaldo, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry, Cruces University Hospital, Osakidetza-Basque Health Service, Barakaldo, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry, Cruces University Hospital, Osakidetza-Basque Health Service, Barakaldo, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Cruces University Hospital, Barakaldo, SpainIntroduction: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the coronavirus family, a group of viruses that can cause upper respiratory infections in humans. Among other symptoms, it can present as an asymptomatic infection or as a more severe disease requiring hospitalization. Neuropsychiatric symptoms have been described in the acute phase of the illness and as long-term repercussions. We describe the characteristics and interventions in those COVID-19 patients referred to our liaison psychiatry service.Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. This study was carried out within the Department of Psychiatry of Cruces University Hospital (Basque Country, Spain). Data from each psychiatric consultation within our consultation-liaison service were consecutively obtained for 1 month from March 17 to April 17, 2020. We recruited data regarding clinical and referral characteristics and psychiatric interventions.Results: Of a total of 721 SARS-CoV-2 hospitalizations, 43 (5.6%) patients were referred to our psychiatry liaison service. The median age was 61 years old, and 62.8% were women. The infectious disease department was the most frequent petitioner (37.2%), and the most common reason for referral was patient anxiety (25.6%). A total of 67.4% of patients received psychological counseling and 55.8% received some pharmacological approach, with a median of 3.7 visits/calls per patient. In addition, 20.3% needed a medication switch due to potential interactions between psychotropics and drugs used to treat SARS-CoV-2.Discussion: In our study, up to 5.6% of SARS-CoV-2 hospitalized patients needed a psychiatric evaluation, especially for anxiety and mood symptoms. Psychosocial factors associated with the pandemic, drugs used to treat the infection, or a direct causative effect of the virus may explain our findings.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.555080/fullCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2liaison psychiatrymental healthpsychological counseling |
spellingShingle | Mayte López-Atanes Juan Pablo González-Briceño Adrián Abeal-Adham Sara Fuertes-Soriano Janire Cabezas-Garduño Álvar Peña-Rotella Margarita Sáenz-Herrero Margarita Sáenz-Herrero Liaison Psychiatry During the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Description of Referrals and Interventions Frontiers in Psychiatry COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 liaison psychiatry mental health psychological counseling |
title | Liaison Psychiatry During the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Description of Referrals and Interventions |
title_full | Liaison Psychiatry During the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Description of Referrals and Interventions |
title_fullStr | Liaison Psychiatry During the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Description of Referrals and Interventions |
title_full_unstemmed | Liaison Psychiatry During the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Description of Referrals and Interventions |
title_short | Liaison Psychiatry During the Peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Description of Referrals and Interventions |
title_sort | liaison psychiatry during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic a description of referrals and interventions |
topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 liaison psychiatry mental health psychological counseling |
url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.555080/full |
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