Impact of COVID-19 on obsessive-compulsive disorder: A case series

A public health emergency of international concern, novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since then, it has been caused a pandemic along with serious mental health problems. No other disorder is more vulnerable to the current situation than obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Our case series focuses on the effects of COVID-19 on OCD along with its various manifestations. Most of our patients had exacerbated symptoms during the current situation, but there were also new onset OCD cases triggered by a variety of stressors.

COVID-19 lockdown - Blessing or disaster?

Despite the dubious results of the nationwide lockdown in India state after state continue to clamp lockdowns indiscriminately and claim that it is a panacea for all their ills. Unverified claims abound and myths are perpetuated without any basis. It is time to take a close look at the hard data and come to logical conclusions regarding the utility of prolonged open-ended lockdowns. Unfortunately, the evidence does not support the use of prolonged lockdowns as a useful strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cognitive deficits in familial schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and has been observed in subjects with and without a family history of schizophrenia. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of research directly contrasting cognitive profiles in schizophrenia patients and normal people where family history is present and those where the family history is absent.

AIM

This stydy aimed to compare cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia who had a family history with those that did not and healthy controls.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty consecutive schizophrenia patients were assessed on admission and follow-up after 6 months of treatment using a specially prepared pro forma, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and the PGI Battery of brain dysfunction is the name give to the test. An equal number of age- and sex-matched normal control subjects were also assessed.

RESULTS

Visual memory scores in this study show improvement between baseline and follow-up in schizophrenia patients with/without a family history. Both verbal learning and memory increase between baseline and follow-up but do not reach control levels. Reasoning and problem-solving deficits follow a similar pattern and are causative in the inability to adapt to a changing world. Speed of processing shows improvement with treatment. Working memory deficits in patients improve with treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, all six cognitive domain scores in schizophrenia improved after 6 months of treatment but did not reach the control population level. Individuals with the highest cognitive deficits in the scales were the ones who had a family history of schizophrenia.

Quarantine: Psychological aspects

Quarantine is an age old methods of preventing the spread of infection by restricting the movement of persons or goods. It has again come to global attention due to its widespread implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the public health utility of quarantine is well established, it is associated with few psychological effects which are neither well known nor recognized. In this communication, the psychological side-effects of quarantine and their prevention are briefly discussed.

Stigma associated with COVID-19

A number of incurable, deadly, and disfiguring diseases are associated with stigma which worsens the quality of life of the sufferer. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease was associated with severe stigma and extreme prejudice. Stigma of COVID-19 and its adverse effects are briefly discussed and solutions suggested.

Correlates of depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and suicidal ideas in COVID-associated mucormycosis patients and the effects of treatment

AIM

The aim was to study the correlates of depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and suicidal ideas in patients of COVID-associated mucormycosis (CAM) and effects of treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional, analytical study was performed in a tertiary care center in Western Maharashtra. By purposive sampling, 34 patients of CAM were included in the study with their informed consent and after obtaining ethical clearance. A self-made questionnaire to include demographic and clinical details was filled. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS) were applied after initial diagnosis. The HADS, RSES, and SIDAS were reapplied after their operative treatment.

RESULTS

A significant reduction in anxiety and depression scores postoperatively was seen. No significant difference was found in self-esteem or suicidal ideas postoperatively in the study population. However, patients who underwent orbital exenteration showed a significant reduction in level of self-esteem with anxiety and depression postoperatively. No specific correlation was found between the computed tomography score, family history, intensive care unit admission, or orbital exenteration with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and suicidal ideas.

CONCLUSION

Levels of anxiety and depression in patients of CAM reduced significantly after treatment, but self-esteem worsened in males more than females owing to disfigurement. There is a need of psychological counseling in patients of mucormycosis undergoing a debilitating surgery both pre- and postoperatively for a better outcome and recovery.

Erotomania: A case series

Erotomania is an unusual psychotic disorder exemplified by an individual's delusions of another person being infatuated with them. The condition is usually, but not exclusively, observed in females who are shy, dependent, and sexually inexperienced. The object of the delusion is usually beyond reach, being of much higher social or financial status, already married or disinterested. We present a case series of three patients suffering from this uncommon disorder.

Intracranial space-occupying lesion masked by alcohol dependence syndrome

A lot of comorbidities exist in patients with dependence on alcohol, psychoactive, or other substances. Many times, their comorbidities go undiagnosed or neglected due to the stigma prevalent with dependence. A 22-year-old person with alcohol dependence who was detected to have a parietal lobe space-occupying lesion which proved to be a tuberculoma is reported.

Association of childhood psychological trauma with eating disorders in undergraduate medical students

AIM

The aim of the study was to study the association of childhood psychological trauma with eating disorders (EDs) and to assess and compare the relationship with food, concerns about weight gain, and restrictive or compensatory practices in male and female undergraduate medical students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional, analytical study was performed in a Tertiary Care Medical College and Research Hospital in a suburban area of India. After obtaining ethical clearance, 100 final-year undergraduate students were included in the study with their informed consent. Self-made questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Stirling ED Scale with Disordered Eating Attitude Scale were used. Spearman's correlation coefficient (Rho) was calculated.

RESULTS

There was a significant correlation of history of childhood psychological trauma in the form of emotional abuse, emotional neglect or physical abuse and physical neglect with higher prevalence of disordered eating behaviors and relationship with food, concern about weight gain, and compensatory practices. No significant relationship was found in a history of sexual abuse.

CONCLUSION

The importance of a healthy psychosocial upbringing and nurturing by parents to prevent development of psychiatric comorbidities is an important finding in this study.