evaluation of psychiatric counseling for patients hospitalized with covid-19 in a university-affiliated general hospital in tehran, iran

Background: coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is associated with a number of psychiatric problems in patients; however, mental healthcare in these patients does not appear to be adequate. objectives: this study aimed to evaluate the extent of psychological care provided to covid-19 patients admitted to the hospital and the most common reasons for psychiatric counseling. methods: this study examined the electronic medical records of all covid-19-positive patients admitted to rasoul-e-akram hospital in tehran, iran, within april 1 and september 30, 2020 (approximately 2200 cases). results: psychiatric consultation was requested for 5.45% of admitted patients with covid-19 diagnosis based on a positive real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. more than half of those who received psychiatric counseling had a previous psychiatric disorder. the most common reason for requesting psychiatric counseling in patients with a previous psychiatric disorder was the patient’s evaluation and management; the most common reason in patients without a psychiatric disorder was agitation and lack of cooperation. the most common diagnosis in patients with a positive history of psychiatric disorder was bipolar disorders (33.9%), followed by opioid use disorder (29%). adjustment disorder (54%) and delirium (26%) were the most common diagnoses in patients without a history of psychiatric disease. conclusions: the current study showed that psychiatric counseling in covid-19 patients was limited to a small number, including those with a positive history of psychiatric illnesses and prominent psychiatric symptoms.