Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2020 Aug 1:273:422-424.
doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.061. Epub 2020 May 16.

Unravelling potential severe psychiatric repercussions on healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 crisis

G Anmella  1 , G Fico  1 , A Roca  2 , M Gómez-Ramiro  3 , M Vázquez  4 , A Murru  1 , I Pacchiarotti  1 , N Verdolini  1 , E Vieta  5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Unravelling potential severe psychiatric repercussions on healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 crisis

G Anmella et al. J Affect Disord. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is putting healthcare professionals, especially those in the frontline, under extreme pressures, with a high risk of experiencing physical exhaustion, psychological disturbances, stigmatization, insomnia, depression and anxiety. We report the case of a general practitioner, without relevant somatic or psychiatric history that experienced a "brief reactive psychosis (298.8)" under stressful circumstances derived from COVID-19. She presented with delusional ideas of catastrophe regarding the current pandemic situation, delusions of self-reference, surveillance and persecution, with high affective and behavioural involvement. Physical examination and all further additional investigations did not reveal any secondary causes. She was administered olanzapine 10 mg with significant psychopathological improvement being later discharged with indications to maintain the treatment. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of severe mental illness in a healthcare professional without previous psychiatric history due to COVID-19 outbreak. Around 85% of patients presenting a brief psychotic disorder will develop a potentially disabling serious psychotic illness in the long-term. This case represents the potentially serious mental health consequences on healthcare professionals throughout the COVID-19 crisis and emphasizes the need to implement urgent measures to maintain staff mental health during the current pandemic.

Keywords: Brief psychotic disorder; Brief reactive psychosis; COVID-19; Depression; Healthcare professional; Mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest Dr. Anmella has received CME-related honoraria, or consulting fees from Janssen-Cilag, Lundbeck and Angelini and reports no financial or other relationship relevant to the subject of this article. Dr. Fico has received CME-related honoraria, or consulting fees from Janssen-Cilag and Lundbeck. Dra. Gómez-Ramiro has received grants from Instituto Carlos III and ADAMED and non-financial support from Angelini, Janssen-Cilag, Lundbeck and Pfizer, non relationated with this job. Dr. Vázquez has received CME-related honoraria, or consulting fees from Lundbeck. All other authors declare no conflict of interests. Dr. Pacchiarotti has received CME-related honoraria, or consulting fees from ADAMED, Janssen-Cilag and Lundbeck and reports no financial or other relationship relevant to the subject of this article. Dr. Vieta has received research support from or served as consultant, adviser or speaker for AB-Biotics, Abbott, Actavis, Allergan, Angelini, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Ferrer, Forest Research Institute, Gedeon Richter, Glaxo-Smith-Kline, Janssen, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Pfizer, Roche, Sage pharmaceuticals, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier, Shire, Sunovion, Takeda, Telefónica, the Brain and Behaviour Foundation, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CIBERSAM), the Seventh European Framework Programme (ENBREC), and the Stanley Medical Research Institute and reports no financial or other relationship relevant to the subject of this article. All other authors declare no conflict of interests.

References

    1. Anmella G., Arbelo N., Fico G., Murru A., Llach C., Madero S., Gomes S., Imaz ML., López H., Vieta E., Pintor L. COVID-19 inpatients with psychiatric disorders: real-world clinical recommendations from an expert team in consultation liaison psychiatry. J. Affect. Disord. 2020 (under review) - PMC - PubMed
    1. APA . Fifth Edition (DSM-5) Arlington; VA: 2013. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
    1. Arango C. Lessons learned from the coronavirus health crisis in Madrid, Spain: How COVID-19 has changed our lives in the last two weeks. Biol. Psychiatry. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.04.003. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Belingheri M., Paladino M.E., Riva M.A. Beyond the assistance: additional exposure situations to COVID-19 for healthcare workers. J. Hosp. Infect. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.03.033. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen Q., Liang M., Li Y., Guo J., Fei D., Wang L., He L., Sheng C., Cai Y., Li X., Wang J., Zhang Z. Mental health care for medical staff in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020 doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30078-X. - DOI - PMC - PubMed