Survey of acute stress disorder in patients with coronavirus disease 2019

Abstract

Objective To investigate the prevalence and symptoms of acute stress disorder (ASD) among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods Using a general information questionnaire and Stanford Acute Stress Response Questionnaire (SASRQ), we surveyed 62 patients with COVID-19 admitted in a designated medical facility for COVID-19 in Hubei Province during the period from February to March, 2020. Results Among the 62 patients, 41 (66.13%) had symptoms of ASD, including 30 (48.39%) with separation symptom, 24 (38.71%) with avoidance symptom, 21 (33.87%) with repeated experience symptom, and 37 (59.68%) with high alert symptom. Twenty-four (38.71%) of the patients had severe ASD, and 17 (21.42%) had mild ASD. Conclusion ASD has a high incidence among COVID-19 patients with high vigilance as the most prominent symptom.The symptoms can be severe in patients with severe COVID-19 or in patients who experience COVID-19-related death of relatives. A high awareness and early detection and intervention of ASD are urged to prevent the progression of ASD symptoms among the COVID-19 patients.

Keywords

• severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
• coronavirus disease 2019
• acute stress disorder