DEPRESSIONAMONG PATIENTS WHO SURVIVED COVID 19 INTHE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Abstract

Introduction The current SARS cov 2 virus disease pandemic presents a threatening physical danger as well as its impact on mental health. It seems important to screen any patient who has experienced covid 19 for its psychological impact. Objectives Therefore the aim of our study was to highlight the impact of COVID-19 infection on mental health by screening them for depression Methods This is a cross-sectional, single-center study, conducted at the Sahloul Emergency Department, over a period of 5 months (January to May 2021). Patients are collected from a database of ouremergencydepartment COVID-19 unit.We included patients whose age is greater than or equal to 18 years old; who has been infected with SARS-COV-2 according to the results of the PCR test. All patients lost to follow-up, refusing to participate in this study, having a psychiatric illness or having taken a psychotropic medication before randomization or non-cooperating (unable to respond to the evaluation test) were excluded.A telephone follow-up was done after 30 days from admission to calculate the HAMILTON score after a positif HAD D scale. Results 200 patients were included. For the 20 patients (10%) with depressive symptomatology (doubtful and certain) according to the HAD D scale, their responses to the Hamilton scale were analysed in order to determine the severity of the depressive symptomatology. Note that 30% of patients had mild to moderate signs of depression and 70% had severe depression.The majority of patients in whom the presence of depressive symptoms was noted had an average age of 40 years; those who presented with severe depression had an average age of 51.3 years with a female majority of 72%. No difference was noted in relation to pathological history, half had been hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19(57%). Patients with severe depression symptom resolution lasted an average of 14 days. Conclusions According to the results of this study, interventions may be carried out to minimize the pandemic’s negative psychological consequences. Disclosure of Interest None Declared