Post-traumatic stress symptoms in hemodialysis patients with MERS-CoV exposure

Cho, A Jin; Lee, Hong-Seock; Lee, Young-Ki; Jeon, Hee Jung; Park, Hayne Cho; Jeong, Da-Wun; Kim, Yang-Gyun; Lee, Sang-Ho; Lee, Chang-Hee; Yoo, Kyung Don; Wong, Ae Kyeong

There are several limitations in this study. First, this study had a low response rate and a small sample size. Therefore, the present findings may not be readily generalized to all isolated HD patients. Second, the IES-R-K is a self-report instrument tested 12 months after subjects' exposure to MERS-CoV. Recall may have been affected and could have an impact on the reported results. Furthermore, other factors in addition to isolation experience might affect psychological stress in quarantined HD patients. Third, we had no information about subjects' education level. Fourth, we did not measure other psychological and medical factors that could affect post-traumatic stress symptoms 12 months after isolation. Fifth, we didn't investigate stress symptoms on HD patients without isolation as a control. Despite these limitations, the results of this study show that quarantine can result in considerable psychological distress.. A shorter duration of quarantine was associated with high IES-R-K scores. Public health officials, infectious disease physicians, and psychologists must be aware of this result. Further research is needed to determine factors that influence the success of quarantine and in relation to the provision of additional support to patients who are at an increased risk of the adverse psychological effects of quarantine.