Psychopathological profile in COVID-19 patients including healthcare workers: the implications

The effects of COVID-19 seem to extend beyond the physical pain and is showing psychiatric implications as well. Moreover, psychopathological implications seem to last also after patients' discharge. Our goal is to investigate the psychological impact and psychopathological outcome of patients affected by COVID-19.

We have engaged 34 patients with COVID-19 conditions [eight of them were healthcare workers patients (HCW)] hospitalized at "Policlinico Gemelli Foundation" of Rome, Italy. All patients were evaluated through the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R) first, during their hospitalization (baseline), and then, after 4 months from hospital discharge (follow-up), through phone interviews.

At baseline, 82% of patients revealed from mild to severe psychological impact of COVID-19, according to the IES-R. At follow-up, the mean IES-R total score was significantly decreased (p<0.001) even if almost half (46.6%) of our cohort still showed it. HCW patients showed a significantly higher score than other patients at IES-R scale, both at baseline (p=0.005) and at follow-up (p<0.001). Moreover, at 4 months from discharge, they showed a significantly higher percentage of moderate and severe distress (p=0.015). In addition to this, at follow-up, our cohort of patients showed an increase of anxiety symptoms, even if not significant compared to baseline (46.7% vs. 35.3% respectively; p=1.000), and HCW patients suffered more sleep disorders (p=0.019) and anxiety symptoms (p=0.019) compared to other patients.

We indicate the importance of assessing psychopathology of COVID-19 survivors, monitoring their changes over time, and providing psychological support to improve their psychological well-being.