Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions cause
increasing mental health problems in both the general population and
psychiatric patients. In this study, it was aimed to compare the number
and characteristics of emergency psychiatric consultations in the earlypandemic
period and in the same period of 2019, in order to understand
how the COVID-19 pandemic affects psychiatric emergencies and the
health care seeking behavior of people with psychiatric disorders.
Method: A retrospective cross-sectional study was designed in which
patients who applied to Emergency Department of Bursa Uludağ
University and were consulted to psychiatry between 11 March 2019
– 1 September 2019 and 11 March 2020 - 1 September 2020 were
included. Sociodemographic characteristics of the patients, psychiatric
diagnoses, hospitalizations, psychotropic drug use and treatment
compliance, frequency of admission, indications for hospitalization/
referral and suicide attempts were compared.
Results: It was observed that the ratio of psychiatric admissions to
the emergency department to all emergency department admissions
was significantly higher in the early-pandemic period than in the prepandemic
period. In the early-pandemic period, emergency department
admissions due to depression disorders were found to be significantly
lower; schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and psychotropic
drug side effects were found to be significantly higher than in the prepandemic
period.
Conclusion: In this study, it was shown that the COVID-19
pandemic may have a negative impact on psychiatric patients. Prompt
implementation of measures to deal with the psychiatric effects of the
pandemic, using online health services, developing coping strategies and
identifying early signs of psychiatric illness exacerbations can reduce the
negative effects of this stressful period on vulnerable individuals.
Keywords: COVID-19, Pandemic, Quarantine, Psychiatry, Psychiatric
Emergency, Emergency Department