Ítalo Silva da Cruz, Taelis Araujo Granja, Beatriz Trajano de Oliveira and Modesto Leite Rolim Neto*
Introduction: The level of stress is increasing in the frontline team, which includes Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In this circumstance, it is noted that the health team is guided by physical and emotional resistance to face life and death situations. It is known that at least 50% of doctors fight burnout or emotional exhaustion. Thus, it is inferred that the healthcare team in the ICU environment brings with themselves scars and marks of personal battles that are fought daily between themselves and the exercise of their work.
Objective: To understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on the frontline medical team in the ICU environment, as well as to reveal which proposals are being made to alleviate the harm that this group experiences.
Method: A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA protocol (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis). The review was directed to answer the study question, constructed by the acronym PICO as follows: P - Health Team, I - ICU, C - Impacts of COVID-19 and O - Mental Health. To search for studies, the following databases were used: Pubmed and Medline.
Results: In all, 573 evidences were found. With the subsequent application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 31 studies were included for qualitative foundations.
Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic period, the structure of ICU activities changed rapidly. The medical team of this environment is the first to suffer the consequences that this disease promotes. The disproportion between the need for technological supplies in intensive care and their scarcity, promotes, among many factors, psychological stress. Anxiety, irritability, insomnia, fear and anguish are some sensations experienced by this audience. In this sense, promoting actions with the purpose of mitigating such psychic-organic impacts is essential.
