Approximately one-quarter of emergency department patients who are injured or experience medical emergencies will develop clinically significant posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, which can evolve into PTSD. Emergency clinicians and rapid response teams (eg, trauma, cardiac, stroke) can play a critical role in recognizing symptoms of posttraumatic stress and providing early distress management techniques, screening, and referral to services that may mitigate the development of PTSD.
Our recent issue An Evidence-Based Approach to Emergency Department Patients at Risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms summarizes the existing literature on psychological distress related to events that trigger the need for emergency care and synthesizes cutting-edge approaches that may impact patient outcomes.
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Here are a few key points:
- Trauma and acute medical emergencies can be psychologically disturbing, resulting in posttraumatic stress disorder symptom (PTSS).
- Acute stress contributes to both short- and long-term psychiatric disorders, poor general health and quality of life, pain, disability, and higher risk for all-cause mortality.
- Up to 25% of patients with respiratory or cardiovascular emergencies developed PTSS within 1 month of the event; 42% reported PTSS within 8 weeks of a motor vehicle crash; and 43% reported PTSS following assaultive trauma.
- PTSS are normal responses to trauma; some 80% of patients will recover from PTSS without intervention; failure to recover after 1 month may be characterized as PTSD.
Read the full issue and earn 4 CME credits!
Last Updated on January 25, 2023
