Psychiatric Findings in Suspected and Confirmed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Patients Quarantined in Hospital: A Retrospective Chart Analysis

Kim, Hyun-Chung; Yoo, So-Young; Lee, Bun-Hee; Lee, So Hee; Shin, Hyoung-Shik

We as psychiatrists thought it important to make good rapport with the patient from the beginning, as soon as they entered the MERS ward for the first time. To achieve this goal each psychiatrist was assigned to a patient from admission and each psychiatrist, wearing the proper protective equipment, introduced ourselves to the assigned patient face-to-face and informed the patient of daily telephone interviews and symptom screening. This helped to build acquaintance with the patient and give personal familiarity when receiving their first telephone call. Daily telephone calls were offered as psychiatric rounding to check any sleep or mood disturbances. Further face-to-face interview was done if requested by the patient or when acute psychiatric symptoms emerged. These two modes of mental health services were offered to all of the MERS inpatients from day 1 in order to give support and to detect and treat possible psychiatric symptoms.