Posttraumatic stress disorder after minor trauma - A prospective cohort study

Area of Science:

• Trauma research
• Psychiatry
• Road traffic accident studies

Background:

• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is typically studied in severely injured patients.
• Little is known about PTSD development in individuals with minor injuries after road traffic accidents.
• It is often assumed that minor injuries do not lead to PTSD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the occurrence of PTSD symptoms in patients with minor injuries following road traffic accidents.
• To identify factors associated with PTSD development in this patient group.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study of 36 patients with Injury Severity Score < 16 after road traffic accidents.
• Assessment of Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI), Trauma History Questionnaire (THQ), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at trauma.
• Evaluation of Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R) and BDI-II at 6 weeks and 3 months post-trauma.

Main Results:

• Two patients exhibited critical PTSD screening values (IES-R) at 6 weeks.
• A strong correlation was found between Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI) scores and IES-R at 6 weeks and 3 months.
• Significant correlations were observed between Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and IES-R at both follow-up points.

Conclusions:

• PTSD symptoms can manifest even after minor trauma, particularly road traffic accidents.
• Elevated peritraumatic distress is significantly associated with the development of PTSD.
• Clinical consideration of PTSD is warranted for both severely and slightly injured patients after road traffic accidents.