%0 Journal Article
%T Reactive psychoses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical perspectives from a case series
%J Revista de psiquiatría y salud mental (English edition)
%D 2020
%A Valdés-Florido, María José
%A López-Díaz, Álvaro
%A Palermo-Zeballos, Fernanda Jazmín
%A Martínez-Molina, Iván
%A Martín-Gil, Victoria Eugenia
%A Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto
%A Ruiz-Veguilla, Miguel
%V 13
%N 2
%P 90-94
%X INTRODUCTION: The world is currently undergoing an extremely stressful scenario due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This unexpected and dramatic situation could increase the incidence of mental health problems, among them, psychotic disorders. The aim of this paper was to describe a case series of brief reactive psychosis due to the psychological distress from the current coronavirus pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We report on a case series including all the patients with reactive psychoses in the context of the COVID-19 crisis who were admitted to the Virgen del Rocío and Virgen Macarena University Hospitals (Seville, Spain) during the first two weeks of compulsory nationwide quarantine. RESULTS: In that short period, four patients met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for a brief reactive psychotic disorder. All of the episodes were directly triggered by stress derived from the COVID-19 pandemic and half of the patients presented severe suicidal behavior at admission. CONCLUSIONS: We may now be witnessing an increasing number of brief reactive psychotic disorders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This type of psychosis has a high risk of suicidal behavior and, although short-lived, has a high rate of psychotic recurrence and low diagnostic stability over time. Therefore, we advocate close monitoring in both the acute phase and long-term follow-up of these patients.<p /><p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Elsevier Publishing
%@ 2173-5050
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rpsm.2020.04.009