Initiation of psychotropic medication in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: Association with clinical and biological characteristics

Introduction: Inpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) show a high rate of neuropsychiatric manifestations, possibly related to a higher risk of serious illness or death. Use of psychotropic medications (PMs) indicates the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in COVID-19 patients. So far, potential clinical predictors of use of PMs have not been much investigated. In order to extend research in this area, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of PM prescription among a sample of inpatients with COVID-19 and to find potential predictors of initiation of PMs in these individuals. Methods: This is a cross-sectional single-center study, conducted during the first outbreak peak in a hospital of northern Italy. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, comorbidities, routine blood test, use of potential COVID-19 treatments, and length of stay were retrieved from medical records. Results: Data were available for 151 inpatients. Forty-seven of them (31.1%) started at least one prescription of a PM. PM prescription was significantly inversely associated with lymphocyte and platelet counts. A significant association was also found for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the initiation of PMs could be common among COVID-19 inpatients. Lymphocyte and platelet counts as well as LDH levels may reflect neuropsychiatric complications of COVID-19.