Introduction: Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are the most commonly reported psychological sequelae in post-COVID patients. The use of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) may contribute to these symptoms.

Objective: To compare anxious, depressive and PTSD symptomatology between COVID-19 survivors with and without IMV during their hospital stay.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted. 282 post-COVID survivors participated: 174 with IMV at hospitalization (66.7% male, G1) and 108 without IMV (63.90% male, G2). They were assessed with:  PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, and Davidson Brief Scale for PTSD. 

Results: Mean age: G1= 50.99±14.45, G2: 48.53±15.47 years. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found between groups (G1 vs G2) in anxiety (29.9% vs 41.7%) and depression (29.9% vs 40.7%). Not in PTSD (39.1% vs 51.9%, p=0.131). In symptom intensity there are no statistically significant differences reporting anxious symptomatology: mild (16.7% vs 24.1%), moderate (8.6% vs 9.3%), and severe (4.0% vs 8.3%); depressive symptomatology: mild (16.7% vs 19.4%), moderate (8.6% vs 10.2%), moderate-severe (2.3% vs 6.5%), and severe (2.3% vs 4.6%); PTSD symptomatology: mild-moderate (38.5% vs 50.9%), and severe (0.6% vs 0.9%). Odds ratio for anxiety and PTSD found that in G2 there is 67.6% (CI: 1.015-2.768) more risk of anxiety than in G1. In PTSD, G2 has 67.9% (CI: 1.034-2.726) higher risk. In depression there was no significant risk.

Conclusions: Patients without IMV have a conscious experience of their hospitalization, which may lead to a higher level of PTSD, anxiety and depression compared to sedated patients with IMV.