Evidence mapPaperPMID 41908129Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2026

(COVID-19) SARS-CoV-2-catatonia syndrome: does it exist? Longitudinal evidence.

Diğdem Göverti, Elif Poyraz, Bestenur Güvendi Melenkiş, Duygu Nur Tutam, Serdar M Dursun

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Diğdem GövertiDepartment of Psychiatry, Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli, Türkiye.
Elif PoyrazDepartment of Psychiatry, Iğdır Dr. Nevruz Erez State Hospital, Iğdır, Türkiye.
Bestenur Güvendi MelenkişDepartment of Psychiatry, Erenköy Training and Research Hospital for Mental Health and Neurological Disorders, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Duygu Nur TutamDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Health Sciences, Van Training and Research Hospital, Van, Türkiye.
Serdar M DursunDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Catatonia is a complex neurobehavioral syndrome related with several psychiatric and medical conditions. The underlying pathophysiological mechanism is the dysfunction of cortical-subcortical motor regulation systems, including GABA, dopamine, and glutamate, or increased and sympathetic freezing response may be some of the mechanisms. The pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric complications related to COVID-19 is associated with nervous system damage due to systemic inflammation and cytokine storm. In catatonia, evidence of acute phase activation has been shown rarely. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between COVID-19 and catatonia, which has been reported as case reports in the literature. Materials and methods: This study has been designed as a retrospective chart review. The data was collected by three psychiatrists for the period of four years, separated into before and after the released first case (11/03/2020) from emergency psychiatry department, outpatient and inpatient clinics of Erenköy Training and Research Hospital for Mental Health and Neurological Disorders. The keywords when searching in the hospital database were "catatonia", "catatonia-syndrome", and all catatonia symptoms in DSM-5. After the pandemia started, we searched for COVID-19 infection additionally. Results: Forty patients were included in the study, consisting of 20 females (50.00%) and 20 males (50.00%). There was no significant difference in pre-(n:18) and post-COVID 19 (n:22) cases according to age, gender, underlying cause, treatment applied in two groups (p<0.05). In addition, symptom diversity of catatonia was not statistically significant in both groups (p<0.05). In the post-pandemic period, 2 cases were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last month. Discussion: Postinfectious COVID-19 catatonia is a rare neuropsychiatric complication of COVID-19. The result of our study supports the unclear role of acute phase reactants in catatonia. Neuropsychiatric symptomatology is broad in postinfectious COVID-19. As understanding of the pathogenesis remains fairly limited, symptomatic management is an appropriate strategy.

Indexed as

catalepsycatatoniaCOVID-19mutismnegativismSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID41908129
PMCPMC13021897

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.