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

ABSTRACT

Psychotic symptoms have been related to other coronavirus infections. We conducted a single-centre retrospective and observational study to describe new-onset psychotic episodes in COVID-19 patients. Ten patients infected by the novel coronavirus with psychotic symptoms and no previous history of psychosis were identified by the emergency and liaison psychiatry departments. Nine of the cases presented with psychotic symptoms at least two weeks after the first somatic manifestations attributed to COVID-19 and receiving pharmacological treatment. Structured delusions mixed with confusional features were the most frequent clinical presentations. Hence, COVID-19 patients can develop psychotic symptoms as a consequence of multiple concurrent factors.