Ahearn Joseph, Driscoll Maggie, Gilela Sahiti
Department of Psychiatry, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, USA.
Case Rep Psychiatry. 2023 Feb 11;2023:9792099. doi: 10.1155/2023/9792099. eCollection 2023.
Neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19 have been documented, including delusions, hallucinations, agitation, and disorganized behavior. Although the mechanisms for these symptoms remain unclear, there has been an increasing body of literature suggesting a correlation between COVID-19 infection and psychosis. Here, we illustrate the case of a 34-year-old female with no previous psychiatric history who contracted COVID-19 and subsequently developed severe symptoms of psychosis. After presenting to the emergency department with one month of worsening mood, auditory hallucinations, intrusive thoughts, and hyperreligiosity, she was admitted to the inpatient psychiatric unit. The patient was treated with multiple antipsychotic medications and was discharged in stable condition with resolution of her auditory hallucinations; however, her delusions, hyperreligiosity, and negative psychotic symptoms persisted, resulting in a second inpatient psychiatric admission eight days after discharge, during which she again did not reach full remission.
With this information, we hope to increase awareness of COVID-induced psychosis and further discuss the relationship between COVID-19 infection and neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Although there has been increasing research about the COVID-19 pandemic, there is much to be elucidated regarding the neuropsychiatric symptoms related to these infections. Similar to previous studies, our case describes a patient with no previous psychiatric history who developed severe psychotic symptoms after COVID-19 infection and was admitted to the inpatient psychiatric unit. These symptoms resulting from infection can be severe or debilitating for the patient. Therefore, physicians should be aware of these potential neuropsychiatric sequelae when treating patients with active COVID-19 infections, and treatment with antipsychotics or acute inpatient psychiatric admission should be considered.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）的神经精神后遗症已有文献记载，包括妄想、幻觉、激越和行为紊乱。尽管这些症状的机制尚不清楚，但越来越多的文献表明COVID-19感染与精神病之间存在关联。在此，我们阐述了一例34岁女性的病例，该女性既往无精神病史，感染COVID-19后出现了严重的精神病症状。在因情绪恶化、幻听、强迫观念和宗教狂热加重一个月后就诊于急诊科，随后她被收治入精神科住院病房。该患者接受了多种抗精神病药物治疗，出院时病情稳定，幻听症状消失；然而，她的妄想、宗教狂热和阴性精神病症状持续存在，出院八天后再次入住精神科住院病房，在此期间她仍未完全缓解。
基于这些信息，我们希望提高对COVID-19所致精神病的认识，并进一步探讨COVID-19感染与神经精神症状之间的关系。
尽管关于COVID-19大流行的研究越来越多，但与这些感染相关的神经精神症状仍有许多有待阐明。与先前的研究相似，我们的病例描述了一名既往无精神病史的患者，在感染COVID-19后出现严重的精神病症状并被收治入精神科住院病房。这些感染引起的症状可能对患者来说很严重或使人衰弱。因此，医生在治疗活动性COVID-19感染患者时应意识到这些潜在的神经精神后遗症，并应考虑使用抗精神病药物治疗或急性精神科住院治疗。
