The following is a summary of the “Psychological Morbidity After COVID-19 Critical Illness,” published in the January 2023 issue of Chest by Sankar, et al.

Those who leave the intensive care unit often suffer debilitating symptoms even after their initial critical condition has improved. Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are just a few of the common psychiatric aftereffects that many patients struggle with months or even years after being released from the hospital. As a result of the high number of people who survived the COVID-19 pandemic’s critical illness, they need a better understanding of the psychological morbidity that often follows such an ordeal. 

Substantial post-intensive care unit (ICU) psychological sequelae, mediated by particular pathophysiologic, iatrogenic, and situational risk factors, are experienced by many patients with COVID-19-related critical illnesses. To increase critical care survivability after COVID-19 illness, more research is needed into existing and novel interventions to reduce psychiatric morbidity. 

This review proposes a framework for thinking about the pathophysiologic, iatrogenic, and situational risk factors for COVID-19-related psychological morbidity in the context of critical illness: direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 virus in the brain; iatrogenic complications of ICU care that may disproportionately affect patients with COVID-19; and social isolation that may worsen psychological morbidity. They also examine the current approaches taken to reduce the risk of psychological problems following a critical illness.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012369222039058