Course and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder in parents after pediatric intensive care treatment of their child

Abstract

Objective: To study posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents after unexpected pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) treatment of their child and to identify risk factors for its development.

Method: Parents completed PTSD questionnaires 3 and 9 months (N = 190) after PICU treatment. Risk factors included pretrauma data, medical data, social demographics and posttraumatic stress responses at 3 months.

Results: In total, 30.3% of parents met criteria for subclinical PTSD and 12.6% for clinical PTSD at 3 months. Clinical PTSD prevalence rates did not change over time. At 9 months, 10.5% of parents still met criteria for PTSD. Number of earlier stressful life events, earlier psychosocial care and posttraumatic stress responses at 3 months predicted persistent subclinical and clinical PTSD.

Conclusions: PICU admission is a stressful event associated with persistent parental PTSD. Assessment of risk factors can facilitate detection of persistent PTSD for early intervention.