Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, and Depression in Post-COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Psychotherapy: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial

In individuals recently hospitalized with COVID-19, global estimates show a 17.9% prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a viable alternative to reduce the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. This study aimed to verify the effect of CBT on anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and quality of life (QOL) in hospitalized post-COVID-19 patients. This was a prospective clinical trial involving individuals with neuropsychiatric symptoms. Clinical data were collected, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Event Impact Scale (IES-6), and Short-Form Health Survey were administered. Fifteen patients (mean age 53.4 years), seven hospitalized in the COVID-19 ward and eight in the intensive care unit, underwent CBT sessions once a week for 50 min for a period of six weeks. The groups showed similar anxiety and depression scores (p>0.05) before and after CBT. However, there were significant intragroup differences in anxiety (p=0.01), depression (p=0.01), and PTSD (p=0.01) scores before and after CBT. Thus, CBT effectively reduced anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and improved QOL in post-COVID-19 patients.