2022 Volume 34 Issue 3 Pages 265-269
It is important to cooperate physical and psychiatric departments for COVID-19 patients who require psychiatric treatment, such as mental illness and delirium. However, there are few reports of psychiatrists directly examining patients in the red zone of the unit for treatment of COVID-19 in general hospitals. We have conducted liaison activity within the red zone since December 2020, and we performed a retrospective chart review of the activity. It turned out that the need for psychiatric medicine is high because there are psychiatric patients, dementia patients, and many delirium patients in COVID-19 units. Liaison activity within the red zone by a psychiatrist provided accurate information even with various limitations, enabling management while checking the status of in COVID-19 units. In addition, delirium frequently appeared after extubation in severe patients requiring intubation. When antipsychotics are administrated to manage delirium, the frequency of aspiration pneumonia and reintubation increases, so it was considered desirable to avoid the use of antipsychotics as much as possible.
