The association of COVID-19 and catatonia in the ICU-recognition, management, and the role of electroconvulsive therapy

Abstract

Background: Catatonia has been an established neuropsychiatric syndrome for decades. It has been reported to occur in approximately 10% of patients with acute psychiatric illness. There is not much current data depicting a definite association between COVID-19 and catatonia, especially in the intensive care unit (ICU) however further research is needed in this area. Although a variety of neuropsychiatric manifestations have been reported, COVID-19 has a limited association thus far with catatonia to our knowledge. With the increased prevalence of psychiatric illness during the pandemic, it is hypothesized that catatonia will also have increased rates moving forward. We aim to review the association between COVID-19 and catatonia in this article. 

Methods: A thorough literature review was conducted focusing on studies which demonstrated any association or non-association between COVID-19 and catatonia. It is our hypothesis that with an increased prevalence in mental health pathology there has been a simultaneous surge in cases of catatonia.

Conclusion: Catatonia can be a life-threatening syndrome which can complicate management of various psychiatric as well as medical conditions. Hence, it is critical to evaluate and address the association between catatonia and COVID-19 which continues to ravage communities and burden healthcare systems worldwide. Early recognition and interventions with life-saving procedures such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is necessary to mitigate long term impact.