Mental health impact of admission to the intensive care unit for COVID-19

Abstract

The pandemic caused by Covid-19 has long term ramifications for many, especially those patients who have experienced an intensive care unit (ICU) admission including ventilation and sedation. This paper will explore aspects of care delivery in the ICU regarding the current pandemic and the impact of such on the mental health of some of these patients. Post discharge, patients will be returning to a very different community incorporating social distancing, and in some cases, social isolation and/or shielding. Many may experience a multitude of physical and mental health complications which can ultimately impact upon each other, therefore a bio-psycho-pharmaco-social approach to discharge, case management, risk assessment and positive behavioural support planning is recommended.

Improved strategies to counter the COVID-19 pandemic: Lockdowns vs. primary and community healthcare

“…These measures contribute not only to rapid recovery and improvement in quality of life but also to shortening hospital stay and thus increasing available hospital resources. An additional pressing issue is the management of mental health problems that appear to be highly prevalent in patients recovering from COVID-19 [71,72]. Primary care is also responsible for maintaining the delivery of essential health services irrelevant to COVID-19, both in primary and secondary prevention, in order to reduce morbidity and mortality from other diseases.…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult mental health in the UK: A rapid systematic review

“…Increasing mental health provision will be required, allied with governance and funding to monitor the mental health situation post-pandemic [100, 56], particularly related to suicide and self-harm. A proactive approach to discharging COVID-19 patients will be needed to ensure problems are identified and appropriately managed [101, 57]. Online interventions have been recommended as they are low-cost, scalable and readily deployable solutions which can tackle cognition and mood in real time, while also allowing for personalised interventions [102, 58].…”