Factors associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms in a prospective cohort of patients after abdominal sepsis: a nomogram

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine to what extent patients who have survived abdominal sepsis suffer from symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and to identify potential risk factors for PTSD symptoms.Design and settingPTSD and depression symptoms were measured using the Impact of Events Scale–Revised (IES-R), the Post-Traumatic Symptom Scale 10 (PTSS-10) and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II).Patients and participantsA total of 135 peritonitis patients were eligible for this study, of whom 107 (80%) patients completed the questionnaire. The median APACHE-II score was 14 (range 12–16), and 89% were admitted to the ICU.Measurements and resultsThe proportion of patients with “moderate” PTSD symptom scores was 28% (95% CI 20–37), whilst 10% (95% CI 6–17) of patients had “high” PTSD symptom scores. Only 5% (95% CI 2–12) of the patients expressed severe depression symptoms. Factors associated with increased PTSD symptoms in a multivariate ordinal regression model were younger age (0.74 per 10 years older, p = 0.082), length of ICU stay (OR = 1.4 per doubling of duration, p = 0.003) and having some (OR = 4.9, p = 0.06) or many (OR = 55.5, p < 0.001) traumatic memories of the ICU or hospital stay.ConclusionAs many as 38% of patients after abdominal sepsis report elevated levels of PTSD symptoms on at least one of the questionnaires. Our nomogram may assist in identifying patients at increased risk for developing symptoms of PTSD.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00134-007-0941-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.