Conference Coverage
PTSD symptoms a common complication of critical illness
Key clinical point: PTSD symptoms affect 25% or more of patients up to a year after a critical illness.Major finding: Among 429 survivors of...
SAN DIEGO – Following an ICU stay, about one-fourth of critical illness survivors are affected by symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, a meta-analysis of studies representing 3,437 patients demonstrated.
During a press briefing at an international conference of the American Thoracic Society, Dr. Ann Parker, a fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, discussed the findings and noted that certain patient-related risk factors influenced the association, including younger age, preexisting mental health problems, and post-ICU memories of frightening experiences in the ICU.
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