Available Evidence and Ongoing Hypothesis on Corona Virus (COVID-19) and Psychosis: Is Corona Virus and Psychosis Related? A Narrative Review

BACKGROUND: Corona virus (COVID-19) is an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel corona virus and declared to be a global health emergency and a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Prevention strategies to control the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as closing of schools, refraining from gathering, and social distancing, have direct impacts on mental well-being. SARS-CoV-2 has a devastating psychological impact on the mental health status of the community and, particularly when associated with psychotic symptoms, it could affect the overall quality-of-life. The virus also has the potential to enter and infect the brain. As a result, psychosis symptoms could be an emerging phenomenon associated with the corona virus pandemic. The presence of psychotic symptoms may complicate the management options of patients with COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article review is to elaborate the relationships between COVID-19 and psychotic symptoms. METHODOLOGY: We independently searched different electronic databases, such as Google scholar, PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsychInfo, and other relevant sources published in English globally, by using the search terms “psychosis and COVID-19”, “corona virus”, “brief psychotic”, “schizophrenia”, “organic psychosis”, “infectious disease”, “mental illness”, “pandemics”, and “psychiatry” in various permutations and combinations. RESULTS: The results of the included studies revealed that patients with a novel corona virus had psychotic symptoms, including hallucination in different forms of modality, delusion, disorganized speech, and grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviors. The patients with COVID-19-related psychotic symptoms had responded with a short-term administration of the antipsychotic medication. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: A corona virus-related psychosis has been identified in different nations, but it is difficult to conclude that a novel corona virus has been biologically related to psychosis or exacerbates psychotic symptoms. Therefore, to identify the causal relationships between COVID-19 and psychosis, the researchers should investigate the prospective study on the direct biological impacts of COVID-19 and psychosis, and the clinicians should pay attention for psychotic symptoms at the treatment center and isolation rooms in order to reduce the complication of a novel corona virus.