Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic was declared, cases of psychosis, delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized behavior have been reported worldwide, both during the acute phase of COVID-19 and after recovery. Given the recent emergence of COVID-19, data are still accumulating, and it is premature to correlate COVID-19 with psychotic disorders causally. However, SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to have the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and penetrate neurons. This finding and the amount of published work on COVID-19 and psychotic disorders compel special attention to elucidate the link between SARS-CoV-2 and the occurrence of psychotic symptoms. In this article, several reviews and case reports that have analyzed the link between COVID-19 and psychotic disorders are reviewed. In light of the data that have emerged at the present time, study criteria were proposed to identify COVID-19-related psychosis.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; delusion; disorganization; hallucination; paranoia; psychosis; psychotic disorders.
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