Medical treatment of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

The article presents the results of a study of the impact of adverse stress effects associated with the COVID-19pandemic on patients suffering from schizophrenia spectrum diseases. Objective: to study the attendance of patientswith diagnoses from the F2 heading according to the ICD-10 “Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders”for planned and emergency psychiatric care in the period from 2018 (before the start of the pandemic) to 2020. Materials and Methods. The subject of the study is statistical information and medical documentation of patients diagnosed with F2 (n=4 597 out of 37 263 primary visits) treated at the Altai Regional Psychiatric Hospital named afterErdman Y.K., as well as 3 629 calls of the ambulance teams of the Ambulance Station, Barnaul to patients with thediagnosis of F2 from 2018 to 2020. Results. A comparative analysis of the number of visits for planned medical careand hospitalization of patients with diagnoses from the F2 heading to a round-the-clock psychiatric hospital revealedalmost the same indicators in 2018 (n=415) and 2019 (n=424). The decrease in this absolute indicator (n=346) in2020 is due to the limited availability of mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic and the trend towards theprovision of remote mental health care. There was no expected surge in the first manifest psychotic episodes againstthe background of trigger infectious and stressful influences, which is confirmed by a slight fluctuation in the share offorced hospitalizations: from 22.08% (n=267) in 2018 and 29.61% (n=358) in 2019 (up to 16.68% (n=223) in 2020 ofthe total number of admissions with a diagnosis of F2). An analysis of calls by ambulance teams to patients diagnosedwith F2 found a slight decrease (by 8.66%) in 2020 compared to 2018: from 5 254 and 5 206 to 4 799 calls. The ratioof indicators of emergency and planned psychiatric care remained at the same level. Conclusions. The expected increase in severe psychotic relapses, which led to an increase in the number of hospitalizations, visits for planned oremergency psychiatric care in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, no surge in the first manifest psychotic episodes was identified. This pattern is likely partly due to the negative disorders inherent in patients with schizophreniaspectrum disorders and their lower social involvement than in the general population.