Neuropsychiatric manifestations in COVID-19 patients with mucormycosis presenting to tertiary care center- cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused disruption of mental health along with physical illness, and it is associated with social and occupational impairment. Co-morbid mucormycosis in COVID-19 has added to the severity of psychiatric symptoms. Objectives: Primary objective was to assess neuropsychiatric manifestations in COVID-19 patients with mucormycosis. The secondary objective was to assess concerns for psychiatric symptoms. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on COVID-19 patients with mucormycosis. A consecutive sampling method was adopted, and 70 COVID-19 patients with mucormycosis were recruited to the present study. Mini International Neuropsychiatry Interview Plus (M.I.N.I. Plus) was used to screen psychiatric symptoms, and the diagnosis was made as per the International Classification of Diseases tenth revision (ICD-10). Beck depression inventory (B.D.I.), Hamilton scale for assessment of anxiety (HAM-A) and Beck suicide inventory (B.S.I.) were used to assess the severity of symptoms. Results: Prevalence of neuropsychiatric manifestations in the present study was 64.28%, among which 28.8% had Major depressive episodes, 40% had anxiety, 11% had substance use disorder, and 20% had delirium. The major concern for symptoms was found to be the uncertainty of outcome, which was present in 29% of patients, followed by fear of death (25%), postoperative complications (19%), lack of knowledge (3%) and 22% of patients had multiple concerns. Conclusion: Prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders is higher in COVID-19 patients with Mucormycosis. Psychiatric screening should be considered in these patients to decrease morbidity and improve outcome and quality of life.

Keywords: COVID-19, MINI-Plus, Major depressive episode, Anxiety, Mucormycosis.