Comparison of Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department with Psychiatric Complaints Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Year 2024, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 1 - 10, 29.01.2024

Fatma Betül Çalışkan , Mehmet Oğuzhan Ay , Melih Yüksel , Yeşim İşler , Halil Kaya

https://doi.org/10.61678/bursamed.1413934

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate whether there was a difference in the psychiatric complaints of patients presenting to the emergency department before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: All patients aged 18 years and over who presented to the adult emergency department of the University of Health Sciences Bursa Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital between 11.03.2019 and 11.03.2021 with psychiatric complaints, for whom psychiatry consultation was requested, and whose complete study data were available were retrospectively included in the study.
Results: There were 1508 patients in the study. Of the patients, 50.9% (n=768) were in the pre-pandemic group, 54.0% (n=815) were single, and 77.4% (n=1167) were unemployed. As a result of the statistical analysis, a significant correlation was found between diagnosed psychiatric diseases, depression, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol-substance withdrawal, panic disorder, delirium, and other psychiatric diseases with the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods respectively [(p=0.001), (p<0.05), (p<0.001), (p<0.05), (p<0.05), (p<0.05), (p<0.05), (p<0.05)]. In addition, a significant correlation was found between hallucinations, agitation, aggression, panic attacks, catatonic symptoms, delusions, depressive complaints, and the onset of these symptoms and findings with the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods [(p=0.001), (p<0.001), (p<0.001), (p<0.05), (p<0.001), (p<0.05), (p<0.05), (p<0.05)]. Accordingly, in the post-pandemic group, the presentation rate of patients with a diagnosis of psychiatric illness, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder,,r and delirium, taking psychiatric medication, having agitation, panic, delusions and depressive complaints, who are single and unemployed was significantly higher than in the pre-pandemic period.
Conclusion: It has been understood that the COVID-19 disease, causing a worldwide pandemic, serious mortality, and morbidity, increased psychiatric complaints compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Keywords

Psychiatric complaints, COVID-19, anxiety, emergency department

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