Long-Term Post-traumatic Stress Disorder After Orthopaedic Injury: Prevalence and Risk Factors

To evaluate the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in individuals who are further removed from injury (up to 3 years) and to identify injury-specific characteristics that are associated with an increased risk for persistent PTSD symptoms.

Cross-sectional, retrospective cohort.

Level I trauma center.

Two hundred forty-three patients operatively treated for orthopaedic trauma between March 2017 through June 2018.

Orthopaedic trauma requiring operative intervention.

The primary outcome was score on the PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5) survey. A score of 31 or higher was considered concerning for PTSD.

Forty-nine of 239 respondents (20.5%) scored positive for PTSD. Multivariate analysis demonstrated an increased risk of PTSD for patients with a history of smoking and those who required delayed reoperation (greater than 90 days postoperative). White race and low-energy mechanisms of injury were associated with decreased risk of PTSD. Fracture locations were not associated with a higher likelihood of PTSD.

The prevalence of PTSD symptoms in patients up to 3 years after surgery remains higher than the estimated prevalence of PTSD in the general US population. It is similar to previously documented rates of PTSD for patients less than 1 year after injury. Long-term complication requiring reoperation was associated with an increased risk of persistent PTSD symptoms. Orthopaedic providers should be mindful of PTSD symptoms not only in the immediate postoperative period but throughout the treatment course particularly for those with identified PTSD risk factors.

Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.