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Updated: May 21, 2026

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Published on: October 10, 2012
Can anesthesia trigger delayed-onset posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans?
Kathrene Carter Berger1, Kathleen Scharer
1School of Nursing, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. bergerk@mailbox.sc.edu
Purpose:
The clinical presentation of a 60-year-old Vietnam veteran who developed delayed-onset posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after surgery is presented along with mechanisms for storing traumatic memory and a discussion of the potential contributions of anesthesia and aging to his clinical presentation.
Conclusion:
Although additional research is needed to clarify the contributions of memory processes, anesthesia, and aging in delayed-onset PTSD, prudent clinicians will be cognizant of a potential correlation and screen patients appropriately.
Practice Implications:
A thorough surgical and anesthetic exposure history should be explored in presentations of delayed-onset posttraumatic disorder symptomatology. Additionally, clinicians working with trauma patients who anticipate surgery are uniquely positioned to serve as a liaison between the patient, surgeon, and anesthetist, thereby decreasing the potential for delayed-onset PTSD.
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