Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2-positive psychiatric in-patients: A case-control study in the psychiatric wards of a Great Metropolitan Hospital in Milan.
Mauro Percudani, Adelaide Panariello, Giacomo Deste, Roberta Bassetti, Giuseppina Borriello, Filippo Cecchetto, Benedetto Di Marco, Alessio Falini, Gabriele Nibbio, Irene Calzavara-Pinton, Domenico Gulizia, Andrea Lassini, Lisa Lavatelli, Deborah Levi, Francesca Lise, Francesca Malchiodi, Lorenzo Mosca, Gianluca Piccinini, Anna Radice, Giuseppina Romagnoni, Francesca Ruzzi, Stefania Turati, Alberto Zanobio, Antonio Vita
Author Information
Mauro Percudani: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Adelaide Panariello: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: adelaide.panariello@ospedaleniguarda.it.
Giacomo Deste: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy.
Roberta Bassetti: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Giuseppina Borriello: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Filippo Cecchetto: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Benedetto Di Marco: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Alessio Falini: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy.
Gabriele Nibbio: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy.
Irene Calzavara-Pinton: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy.
Domenico Gulizia: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Andrea Lassini: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Lisa Lavatelli: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Deborah Levi: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Francesca Lise: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Francesca Malchiodi: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Lorenzo Mosca: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Gianluca Piccinini: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Anna Radice: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Giuseppina Romagnoni: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Francesca Ruzzi: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Stefania Turati: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Alberto Zanobio: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Antonio Vita: Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy.
During the first COVID-19 outbreak, the Niguarda Hospital of Milan featured two Psychiatry wards, one for SARS-CoV-2 positive patient and one for patients requiring hospitalization and negative for SARS-CoV-2. The two groups of patients were compared and were similar in distribution of psychiatric diagnosis, duration of illness and previous hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 positive participants had a lower severity of symptoms both at admission and discharge, a lower frequency of psychotic symptoms and substance intoxication at admission. These findings suggest that patients admitted to the COVID ward were hospitalized not only for their mental health condition but also because of the infection.
