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
Review
. 2023 May;35(2):118-130.
doi: 10.12788/acp.0109.

COVID-19 and catatonia: Prevalence, challenges, pathophysiology, and treatment

Joan Oh  1 , Puneet Chawla Sahota  2 , Tarannum Mohammadi  3 , Basant K Pradhan  2 , Maju Mathew Koola  4
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 and catatonia: Prevalence, challenges, pathophysiology, and treatment

Joan Oh et al. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2023 May.

Abstract

Background: Emerging literature supports the association between acute COVID-19 infection and neuropsychiatric complications. This article reviews the evidence for catatonia as a potential neuropsychiatric sequela of COVID-19 infection.

Methods: PubMed was searched using the terms catatonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and COVID-19. Articles were limited to those published in the English language between 2020 and 2022. Forty-five articles that specifically studied catatonia associated with acute COVID-19 infection were screened.

Results: Overall, 30% of patients with severe COVID-19 infection developed psychiatric symptoms. We found 41 cases of COVID-19 and catatonia, with clinical presentations that varied in onset, duration, and severity. One death was reported in a case of catatonia. Cases were reported in patients with and without a known psychiatric history. Lorazepam was successfully used, along with electroconvulsive therapy, antipsychotics, and other treatments.

Conclusions: Greater recognition and treatment of catatonia in individuals with COVID-19 infection is warranted. Clinicians should be familiar with recognizing catatonia as a potential outcome of COVID-19 infection. Early detection and appropriate treatment are likely to lead to better outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer