Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Discharge From Intensive Care Units in Greater Athens Area

Survivors of critical illnesses often exhibit high psychiatric morbidity. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the comorbidity between PTSD and major depression, among patients who have been treated in a general (medical-surgical) intensive care unit (ICU group) compared with patients who have been treated in a non-ICU department, medical or surgical (non-ICU group). The study was conducted in 5 general hospitals in the greater Athens, Greece area. The final sample of the study was composed of 198 patients. The point prevalence of PTSD for ICU patients was 35.3%, whereas for non-ICU patients it was 13.5%. In this study, 11.6% of the sample was found to meet the criteria for both PTSD and major depression. The clinical entity of PTSD is common after intensive care treatment, and coordination between health care professionals is necessary for early recognition and treatment of any psychiatric complication.