Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant changes that it caused, people around the world have been left dealing with its consequences—fear of becoming ill and dying, fear of losing loved ones, uncertainty about the future, and the imposed social isolation—several elements which could lead to psychological consequences. Moreover, recent evidence has suggested that the virus acts as a factor in causing psychological symptoms, including depression, anxiety, fatigue, and post-traumatic stress disorder [1].
Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) has been of interest in the recent pandemic because it focuses on hand hygiene. It is characterized by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions. Obsessions are recurring and constant thoughts, feelings, desires, or images that are perceived as distracting and unwelcome. Compulsions are repeated actions or behavioral activities that a person is forced to conduct in reaction to an urge or according to strict, self-imposed rules.
While the obsession and compulsion content differ between people, certain themes are common in OCD, including those of symmetry, forbidden or taboo thoughts, and harm. The prevalence of OCD is around 2% worldwide. Males and females are affected equally, with a bimodal age at onset (before the age of 20 in most cases and earlier in males); onset after age 50 is relatively rare and may be more likely to have an organic etiology. The exact cause of OCD is unknown, but mostly thought to be multifactorial; the interaction between genetic and environmental factors is suspected in the etiology.
A recent study investigated the prevalence of OCD during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Canadian Province [2] and concluded that the prevalence of OCD increased during the current COVID-19 pandemic at a rate significantly higher than the pre-pandemic rate. Moreover, during the surge of COVID-19 pandemic, an Egyptian study conducted on the general population and health care workers reported that incidence of anxiety and OCD were 29.5% and 28.2%, respectively [3]. Also a recent systematic review examining OCD during the current pandemic showed that obsessive–compulsive symptoms worsened during the early stages of the pandemic [4]. Additionally, there have been reports associating the incidence of OCD after infections [5], but no case was reported after the recent COVID-19 disease.
Here, we report a case of a patient with late-onset OCD after his recovery from the coronavirus disease