title: Posttraumatic stress symptoms and medical procedures in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To focus on posttraumatic stress symptoms after childhood diseases such as cancer, organ transplantation, and severe burns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Differential diagnoses, risk factors, and treatment aspects (psychological and pharmacological) are discussed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The concept of adjustment problems in chronic or severe illnesses is widely used in pediatrics. Many aspects of severe childhood diseases are traumatic, as defined by the DSM-IV: severe illnesses are life-threatening, medical procedures threaten the child's physical integrity, and disorganized behaviour periods are common.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This concept, which remains insufficiently investigated, is a promising area of investigation for prospective and prevention studies.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychophysiology and Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, Hôpital Sainte-Justine and Université de Montréal, Quebec.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wintgens
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boileau
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Robaey
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002056:Burns / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012803:Sick Role; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy