Course and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder in parents after pediatric intensive care treatment of their child.
OBJECTIVE
To study posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents after unexpected pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) treatment of their child and to identify risk factors for its development.


METHODS
Parents completed PTSD questionnaires 3 and 9 months (N = 190) after PICU treatment. Risk factors included pretrauma data, medical data, social demographics and posttraumatic stress responses at 3 months.


RESULTS
In total, 30.3% of parents met criteria for subclinical PTSD and 12.6% for clinical PTSD at 3 months. Clinical PTSD prevalence rates did not change over time. At 9 months, 10.5% of parents still met criteria for PTSD. Number of earlier stressful life events, earlier psychosocial care and posttraumatic stress responses at 3 months predicted persistent subclinical and clinical PTSD.


CONCLUSIONS
PICU admission is a stressful event associated with persistent parental PTSD. Assessment of risk factors can facilitate detection of persistent PTSD for early intervention.
Psychosocial Department, Emma Children's Hospital AMC, The Netherlands. m.b.bronner@amc.nl
Madelon B
MB
Bronner
Niels
N
Peek
Hennie
H
Knoester
Albert P
AP
Bos
Bob F
BF
Last
Martha A
MA
Grootenhuis
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003422:Critical Care / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires