Psychological affectation in surviving patients of COVID-19, consideration of the use of invasive mechanical ventilation

Abstract

Introduction: The presence of anxious, depressive and post-traumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms are the most reported psychological sequelae in post-COVID patients. The use of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) may contribute to the appearance of these symptoms.

Objective: To know the differences in anxious, depressive, PTSD and fear of COVID symptoms among surviving COVID-19 patients with or without IMV, 3 months after hospital discharge.

Method: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted. 239 surviving COVID-19 patients participated: 146 with IMV at hospitalization (67.80% men and 32.20% women) (G1) and 93 without IMV (61.29% men 38.70% women) (G2), who were evaluated with: GAD-7 for anxious symptomatology, PHQ-9 for depressive symptomatology, EMACOVID scale to measure fear of COVID-19, and the brief Davidson scale as screening for EPT. Statistical analyzes were performed in the statistical package SPSS V25.

Results: Average age: G1= 48.62±13.62, G2= 48.49±15.43. There was a statistically significant difference in the EPT scores (G1: Md=4 [4.00-6.00]; G2: Md=5 [4.00-7.00]). No statistically significant differences were found (P<0.05, G1 vs G2) in depression (Md=3 [0.00-6.00] vs Md=3 [0.00-8.50], anxiety (Md=2 [0.00-6.00] vs Md=3 [1:00-7:50]), nor fear of COVID (Md= 9 [7:00-15:00] vs Md=11.80 [7:00-14:00]), although there were clinical differences.

Conclusion: Patients without IMV have a conscious experience of their hospitalization, which may lead to a higher level of PTSD compared to sedated patients with IMV.