A multicenter study of post-traumatic stress disorder after injury: Mechanism matters more than injury severity
Document Type
Article
Department
General Surgery
Abstract
Background: Traumatic injury is strongly associated with long-term mental health disorders, but the risk factors for developing these disorders are poorly understood. We report on a multi-institutional collaboration to collect long-term patient-centered outcomes after trauma, including screening for post-traumatic stress disorder. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder after traumatic injury.
Methods: Adult trauma patients (aged 18-64) with moderate to severe injuries (Injury Severity Score ≥ 9) admitted to 3 level I trauma centers were screened between 6 and 12 months after injury for post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients were divided by mechanism: fall, road traffic injury, and intentional injury. Multiple logistic regression models were used to determine the association between baseline patient and injury-related characteristics and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder for the overall cohort and by mechanism of injury.
Results: A total of 450 patients completed the screen. Overall 32% screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder, but this differed significantly by mechanism, with the lowest being after a fall (25%) and highest after intentional injury (60%). Injury severity was not associated with post-traumatic stress disorder for any group, but lower educational level was associated with post-traumatic stress disorder within all the groups. Only 21% of patients who screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder were receiving treatment at the time of the survey.
Conclusion: Post-traumatic stress disorder is common after traumatic injury, and the prevalence varies significantly by injury mechanism but is not associated with injury severity. Only a small proportion of patients who screen positive for post-traumatic stress disorder are currently receiving treatment
Publication (Name of Journal)
Surgery
Recommended Citation
Herrera-Escobar, J. P.,
Al Rafai, S. S.,
Seshadri, A. J.,
Weed, C.,
Apoj, M.,
Harlow, A.,
Brasel, K.,
Kasotakis, G.,
Kaafarani, H. M.,
Velmahos, G.,
Salim, A.,
Haider, A. H.,
Nehra, D.
(2018). A multicenter study of post-traumatic stress disorder after injury: Mechanism matters more than injury severity. Surgery, 164(6), 1246-1250.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_surg_gen/446
Comments
This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University