Table 1.
Sociodemographic and clinical details of 100 consecutive SARS-CoV-2 positive patients referred to the HMC consultation–liaison psychiatry service.
| Characteristic | Number (%) |
| Age (years) Median Mean Range Male |
43 45.92 18-91 92 (92%) |
| Nationality South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Afghan) Qatari Other Arab Filipino Caucasian African |
60 (60%) 18 (18%) 14 (14%) 4 (4%) 2 (2%) 2 (2%) |
| Source of psychiatric referral Ward Emergency Department |
79 (79%) 21 (21%) |
| Length of hospital stay (days) Median Mean Range |
20 26.51 1-155 |
| Physical comorbidity present | 67 (67%) |
| Includes Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Liver Disease, Lung Disease, Cancer, Chronic kidney disease | |
| Severity of COVID-19 infection1 Asymptomatic Mild COVID-19 Mild COVID-19 pneumonia Severe COVID-19 pneumonia Critical |
27 (27%) 17 (17%) 21 (21%) 21 (21%) 14 (14%) |
| Details of COVID-19 treatment | |
| Supplementary oxygen | 50 (50%) |
| Steroids | 45 (45%) |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 50 (50%) |
| Antibiotics/antivirals | 79 (79%) |
| Past psychiatric history | 35 (35%) |
| Maintenance psychotropic medications prescribed at the time of admission | 17 (17%) |
| Significant psychosocial stress before admission | 48 (48%) |
| Psychiatric diagnosis made by the CL team2 Delirium Acute stress reaction/adjustment disorder Depression (includes 1 case of depressive psychosis) Mania Anxiety disorders Non-affective psychosis Dementia (all cases present pre-COVID-19) No psychiatric diagnosis made Miscellaneous (stroke, intellectual disability with challenging behavior, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, metabolic encephalopathy, Herpes Simplex encephalitis, alcohol withdrawal) |
29 (29%) 24 (24%) 16 (16%) 15 (15%) 14 (14%) 13 (13%) 6 (6%) 1 (1%) 10 (10%) |
| Psychotropic medication prescribed during admission | 85 (85%) |
| Psychiatric condition resolved or improved at the time of hospital discharge | 87 (87%) |
1Severity of COVID-19 infection related to the most severe illness during the hospital admission and was made by the medical team as per the HMC treatment protocol as below.
(a) asymptomatic: i.e., no characteristic physical symptoms of COVID-19 infection
(b) mild COVID-19: uncomplicated upper respiratory tract viral infection, may have non-specific symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, malaise, headache, or muscle pain; elderly people and individuals who are immunosuppressed may present with atypical symptoms
(c) mild pneumonia: patients with pneumonia and no signs of severe pneumonia
(d) severe pneumonia: fever or suspected respiratory infection, plus one of the following: (i) respiratory rate 1>30 breaths/min, (ii) severe respiratory distress, or (iii) SpO2 <90% on room air
(e) critical disease: acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, septic shock
2The sum of psychiatry diagnoses exceeds 100, as some patients had more than one psychiatric diagnosis.