A Study of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Following Road Traffic Accidents in a Tertiary Care Hospital Setting of North India.

Dr.Sumit Khattri; Dr.Navneent Badoni; Dr.Abhishek Arun

Volume : V, Issue : I, January - 2015

A Study of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Following Road Traffic Accidents in a Tertiary Care Hospital Setting of North India.

Dr. Sumit Khattri, Dr. Navneent Badoni, Dr. Abhishek Arun

Abstract :

Background: The occurrence of road traffic accidents (RTAs) resulting from low standard of road construction and inadequate maintenance have been on the increase in North India. While the physical consequences of these RTAs are apparent in soft tissue injuries and bone fractures, psychological consequences such as PTSD amongst others are not easily obvious. Objectives: To identify the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity (e.g. depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and symptoms related to PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) following injury sustained after road traffic accidents and to evaluate the relationship between severity of injuries of victims and psychiatric symptoms. Material and Methods: It was a Cross–Sectional study which included 250 patients (142 men and 108 women) who were admitted to Orthopedic department of Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences (SGRRIM and HS), Dehradun, following Road Traffic Accident (RTA). Patients were interviewed using a questionnaire to collect the socio– demographic data, the Self Rating Questionnaire (SRQ) –Beck Depression Inventory(BDI),Beck Anxiety Inventory(BAI) and the Impact of Event Scale –Revised (IES–R). Patients were prospectively followed up for 1 month. Patients were aged between 20–75 years. The impact of injury was assessed by ISS (Injury Severity Scale) and ABI (Abeviated injury Scale). Results: The mean age was 35±8.90 years (range 20–70). Overall, the prevalence rate of Anxiety symptoms–18%, depressive symptoms–23.2% and PTSD symptoms–38%. Females had a higher rate of PTSD symptoms 52.6% (n = 50), compared to the males 47.4% (n=45). The majority of those with PTSD >50% were young, 20 – 29 years. The study also showed higher scales of psychiatric symptoms in major injuries in comparison to minor injuries showing direct correlation of psychiatric morbidity with severity of injury. Conclusion: Psychiatric symptoms are frequent and severe after major injuries and less severe after minor RTA. There is urgent need to pay more attention to developing consultation–liaison psychiatry services in trauma units of North Indian hospitals.