Sarac E. Evaluation of the mental health of COVID-19 patients discharged from the intensive care unit. World J Clin Cases 2024; 12(33): 6587-6590 [PMID: 39600485 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i33.6587]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Elif Sarac, PhD, Researcher, Ministry of National Defense, General Directorate of Management Services, Bilkent, Ankara 06000, Türkiye. sarac.elf@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychology, Social
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Nov 26, 2024; 12(33): 6587-6590 Published online Nov 26, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i33.6587
Evaluation of the mental health of COVID-19 patients discharged from the intensive care unit
Elif Sarac
Elif Sarac, Ministry of National Defense, General Directorate of Management Services, Ankara 06000, Türkiye
Author contributions: Sarac E performed the design and conceptualization of the study, investigation, obtainment of the resources, supervision, visualization of the data, and writing, review and editing of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Elif Sarac, PhD, Researcher, Ministry of National Defense, General Directorate of Management Services, Bilkent, Ankara 06000, Türkiye. sarac.elf@gmail.com
Received: April 26, 2024 Revised: June 3, 2024 Accepted: June 25, 2024 Published online: November 26, 2024 Processing time: 153 Days and 19.4 Hours
Abstract
In this editorial, I address the mental health status of patients who have been discharged from intensive care units (ICUs) after battling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). An ICU admission is generally a stressful experience, and for severe COVID-19 survivors prolonged treatment in the ICU can lead to significant psychological consequences. These individuals may experience psychiatric distress, including symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, depression, and even post-traumatic psychological issues. Research indicates that during the first 6 months to 1 year following an ICU stay, nearly one-third of survivors exhibit symptoms similar to those of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Several factors may have contributed to the development of depressive and anxious symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for those who underwent an ICU stay. The ICU environment itself is inherently stressful, filled with the constant noise of various medical devices. Studies have provided strong evidence that the prolonged need for ventilation support and the loss of freedom of movement are key factors in the development of psychological problems among COVID-19 patients who had been treated in the ICU.
Core Tip: A prolonged stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) for coronavirus disease 2019 can be psychologically traumatic to survivors. In addition to pandemic-related risk factors such as widespread contagion and lockdowns, it is crucial to emphasize the importance of monitoring the psychological health of individuals who have spent an extended period in the ICU.
