Comparable Psychotropic Prescription Rates After Hospital Discharge Between Patients with COVID-19 and Those With...

Area of Science:

• Medical Research
• Infectious Diseases
• Psychiatry

Background:

• The specificity of psychiatric symptoms following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) recovery is not well-established.
• Understanding post-infection mental health outcomes is crucial for comprehensive patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether psychiatric symptoms after COVID-19 recovery are specific to the illness.
• To compare the incidence of new psychotropic drug prescriptions between COVID-19 and non-COVID respiratory infection patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of inpatient data from Saiseikai-affiliated hospitals (2020-2022).
• Comparison of new psychotropic drug prescriptions post-discharge between COVID-19 and non-COVID groups.
• Utilized Diagnosis Procedure Combination and outpatient clinic data; employed chi-square/Fisher's exact tests and COX proportional-hazards models.

Main Results:

• Included 3,648 COVID-19 and 8,732 non-COVID patients; 5.6% of COVID-19 patients received psychotropic prescriptions.
• No significant difference in psychotropic prescription rates between COVID-19 and non-COVID groups.
• Increased hospitalization severity was significantly associated with higher psychotropic prescriptions (HR 1.83, p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• Psychiatric symptoms requiring psychotropic medication do not appear specific to COVID-19 compared to other respiratory infections.
• Close observation for psychiatric symptoms is recommended, particularly for patients with severe hospitalization, irrespective of COVID-19 status.