Covid could be far from over: The pandemic and PTSD

Recovery from Covid-19 may not be limited to the physical aspect associated with acute symptom recovery. Being confronted with an acute, life threating SARS-CoV-2 infection and going through intensive care treatment caused PTSD in many patients who survived Covid. A recent study published by Janiri et al. in JAMA Psychiatry in February of 2021 found that in a cohort of Covid survivors, 30.2% of Covid-19 survivors experienced Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

PTSD can be defined as a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced a traumatic event, act, and/or threat. The Covid-19 pandemic itself can be characterized as a traumatic event. In a recent article in CNN Health, Christopher Rios further details individual stories concerning the link between PTSD and Covid, current research, and the mental health landscape of America. Amidst the conversation concerning mental health in relation to Covid, it is important that Covid survivors should be screened for PTSD and if diagnosed, referred to the currently available treatments.

Neuritek Therapeutics Inc. is dedicated to bringing novel PTSD treatments to all trauma survivors, including but not limited to those who have survived Covid and those with other trauma histories.