Incidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after Coronavirus Disease

Abstract Background There was an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Daegu, the Republic of Korea, in 2020. We investigated the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among patients with COVID-19 who were treated and discharged at a university hospital in Daegu, Korea. Methods A total of 64 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized, treated, and discharged from a university hospital between February and April 2020 participated to our study. We conducted a phone interview and evaluated the presence of PTSD using the PTSD checklist (PCL-5) from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; score range: 0 to 80). If a score ≥ 33 was obtained, then a diagnosis of PTSD was rendered. Results Thirteen patients scored \(\ge\)33 on the PCL-5, which indicated that 20.3% (13/64) of the patients had PTSD. No statistically significant differences in the demographic data, including sex, age, hospitalization time, and duration after discharge, were observed between the patients with PTSD and those without PTSD. Conclusions We found that 20% of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized, treated, and discharged had PTSD. Accordingly, clinicians should be aware of the high possibility of PTSD among COVID-19 patients and mental health support among the infected patients should be provided.