The Diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in School-Aged Children and Adolescents Following Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Admission

Abstract

Objectives:

This study explored the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents following pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission. Specifically, the study aimed to describe the presentation and prevalence of PTSD symptoms 6 months postdischarge, explore the validity of the DSM-IV PTSD algorithm and alternative PTSD algorithm (PTSD-AA) in school-aged children and adolescents, and examine the diagnostic utility of Criterion C3 (inability to recall aspects of a trauma) in this cohort.

Methods:

Participants were 59 children aged 6–16, admitted to PICU for at least 8 hours. PTSD was assessed via diagnostic interview (Children's PTSD Inventory) 6 months following PICU discharge.

Results:

The PTSD-AA was found to provide the most valid measure of PTSD at 6 months. Removing Criterion C3 improved the validity of Criterion C.

Conclusions:

This study supports the use of the PTSD-AA excluding Criterion C3 for identifying highly traumatized children and adolescents following PICU admission.