A nationwide US study of post-traumatic stress after hospitalization for physical injury.
BACKGROUND
Injured survivors of individual and mass trauma are at risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Few investigations have assessed PTSD after injury in large samples across diverse acute care hospital settings.


METHODS
A total of 2931 injured trauma survivors aged 18-84 who were representative of 9983 in-patients were recruited from 69 hospitals across the USA. In-patient medical records were abstracted, and hospitalized patients were interviewed at 3 and 12 months after injury. Symptoms consistent with a DSM-IV diagnosis of PTSD were assessed with the PTSD Checklist (PCL) 12 months after injury.


RESULTS
Approximately 23% of injury survivors had symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of PTSD 12 months after their hospitalization. Greater levels of early post-injury emotional distress and physical pain were associated with an increased risk of symptoms consistent with a PTSD diagnosis. Pre-injury, intensive care unit (ICU) admission [relative risk (RR) 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.34], pre-injury depression (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.15-1.54), benzodiazepine prescription (RR 1.46, 95% CI 1.17-1.84) and intentional injury (RR 1.32, 95% CI 1.04-1.67) were independently associated with an increased risk of symptoms consistent with a PTSD diagnosis. White injury survivors without insurance demonstrated approximately twice the rate of symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of PTSD when compared to white individuals with private insurance. By contrast, for Hispanic injury survivors PTSD rates were approximately equal between uninsured and privately insured individuals.


CONCLUSIONS
Nationwide in the USA, more than 20% of injured trauma survivors have symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of PTSD 12 months after acute care in-patient hospitalization. Coordinated investigative and policy efforts could target mandates for high-quality PTSD screening and intervention in acute care medical settings.
Zatzick
Douglas F
DF
Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98104, USA. dzatzick@u.washington.edu
Rivara
Frederick P
FP
Nathens
Avery B
AB
Jurkovich
Gregory J
GJ
Wang
Jin
J
Fan
Ming-Yu
MY
Russo
Joan
J
Salkever
David S
DS
Mackenzie
Ellen J
EJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation