Citation

Plasencia-García BO, García-Ligero E, Menéndez IE, Gotor F, González-Fuentes Y, Crespo-Facorro B. Prim. Care Companion CNS Disord. 2022; 24(5): 22cr03296.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Physicians Postgraduate Press)

DOI

10.4088/PCC.22cr03296

PMID

36067504

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) a public health emergency on January 30, 2020.1 Corticosteroids (not used in previous epidemics of severe respiratory syndromes due to risk of worsening lung lesions) have played an important role in the treatment of COVID-19, mainly because they were found to reduce mortality in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 by 20%.2 However, recent studies3 warn of inconsistent results and the need to reevaluate the role of corticosteroids in the treatment of COVID-19, and they are advised only for patients who are critical.

The neuropsychiatric effects derived from corticosteroid treatment are widely described in the literature. Their incidence varies from 3% to 72%4 and spans a broad spectrum of symptoms, from subtle changes in mood to severe affective syndromes and psychosis,5 as well as cognitive failure. The risk of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients who begin treatment with corticosteroids varies with the individual (age, sex, dose, prior psychiatric history, and various biological markers).6 The time it takes for the symptoms to resolve after interrupting treatment is variable as well...

Language: en