Peritraumatic physical symptoms and the clinical trajectory of PTSD after a terrorist attack: a network model approach

Offline: November 13, one year on

Recent conflicts have allowed the French Army Health Service to improve management quality for wartime-injured people during military operations. On November 13, 2015, it was in Paris that France was directly attacked and Bégin Military Teaching Hospital, like several hospitals in Paris, had to face a large number of gunshot victims. Thanks to our operational experience, injured people hospitalized in military hospitals benefited from a management based on triage and damage control (DC) principles. Forty-five patients were taken care of in our hospital with an average age of 32 years. During triage, eight patients were categorized T1 (with four extreme emergencies) and 10 were classified T2 and 27 as T3. Twenty-two patients underwent emergency surgery, 15 for soft tissue lesions of limbs, 8 for ballistic fractures (one of which was a cervical wound), and 5 for abdominal wounds. Two patients classified T1 died early. In total, more than 50 operations were performed including iterative debridements, bone fixation, three amputations, and two flaps. After 9 months, all of the patients had healed. One woman with limb stiffness required an arthrolysis. This event showed that terrorist attacks and mass casualties with war wounds can occur in France. Acquired experience regarding war wounds by the French Army Health Service is precious. Everyone must understand the importance of triage and the principles of damage control. Every hospital must be ready to face this type of massive influx of injured people (white plan). Epidemiological study, level V.

Arab Audiences' Dependency on Traditional and New Media as Information Sources about Terrorist Attacks in Paris 2015 Bashar Abdel-Rahman Mutahar, Abd El-Basit Ahmed Hashem Mahmoud, Philip J. Auter Abstract An online survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 400 respondents from Arab countries to examine their dependency on traditional and new media as a source of information about terrorist attacks in Paris 2015, and to investigate the reasons and effects of this dependency. The results indicated that the most respondents depended on new media more than traditional media as information source about these attacks, and behavioral effects were the most important effects of this dependency, the results also referred to a strong relationship between respondents’ dependency on both traditional and new media as information sources about terrorist attacks and the effects of this dependency. The findings also revealed that there was a significant effect for respondents' gender, age and educational level on this dependency. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/rjmc.v5n1a1

The January 7, 2015 Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in Paris shattered French civilians’ sense of security and also their sense of the surrounding world. This quasi-longitudinal study investigates the temporal dynamics of meaning-making and rumour-mongering processes of French civilians (N = 161) in a real-world, post-terrorist context. The present study was conducted via questionnaire at three points in time (i.e. one week, one month and two months) following the January 7, 2015 terrorist attack in Paris. In line with the social stage model of collective coping with disasters (Pennebaker & Harber, 1993), the main results suggest that participants’ coping process of searching for meaning decreased progressively over the two-month period. However, participants’ finding the presence of meaning as an outcome did not differ across time. Moreover, participants’ belief in rumours and official information was stable over the two-month period. Such findings point to the importance of considering the temporal perspective in order to provide a better understanding of laypeople’s symbolic responses to terrorism.

Are stock markets efficient in the face of fear? Evidence from the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels

BackgroundThe use of mental health supports by populations exposed to terrorist attacks is rarely studied despite their need for psychotrauma care. This article focuses on civilians exposed to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris and describes the different combinations of mental health supports (MHSu) used in the following year according to type of exposure and type of mental health disorder (MHD).MethodsSanté publique France conducted a web-based survey of civilians 8–11 months after their exposure to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. All 454 respondents met criterion A of the DSM-5 definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MHD (anxiety, depression, PTSD) were assessed using the PCL-5 checklist and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. MHSu provided were grouped under outreach psychological support, visits for psychological difficulties to a victims’ or victim support association, consultation with a general practitioner (GP), consultation with a psychiatrist or psychologist (specialist), and initiation of regular mental health treatment (RMHT). Chi-squared tests highlighted differences in MHSu use according to type of exposure (directly threatened, witnessed, indirectly exposed) and MHD. Phi coefficients and joint tabulations were employed to analyse combinations of MHSu use.ResultsTwo-thirds of respondents used MHSu in the months following the attacks. Visits to a specialist and RMHT were more frequent than visits to a GP (respectively, 39, 33, 17%). These were the three MHSu most frequently used among people with PTSD (46,46,23%), with depression (52,39,20%), or with both (56,58, 33%). Witnesses with PTSD were more likely not to have RMHT than those directly threatened (respectively, 65,35%). Outreach support (35%) and visiting an association (16%) were both associated with RMHT (Phi = 0.20 and 0.38, respectively). Very few (1%) respondents initiated RMHT directly. Those who indirectly initiated it (32%) had taken one or more intermediate steps. Visiting a specialist, not a GP, was the most frequent of these steps.ConclusionOur results highlight possibilities for greater coordination of mental health care after exposure to terrorist attacks including involving GP for screening and referral, and associations to promote targeted RMHT. They also indicate that greater efforts should be made to follow witnesses.

ObjectiveWe conducted a systematic review of the literature to explore the longitudinal course of PTSD in DSM-5-defined trauma exposed populations to identify the course of illness and recovery for individuals and populations experiencing PTSD.MethodsWe reviewed the published literature from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2010 for longitudinal studies of directly exposed trauma populations in order to: (1) review rates of PTSD in the first year after a traumatic event; (2) examine potential types of proposed DSM-5 direct trauma exposure (intentional and non-intentional); and (3) identify the clinical course of PTSD (early onset, later onset, chronicity, remission, and resilience). Of the 2537 identified articles, 58 articles representing 35 unique subject populations met the proposed DSM-5 criteria for experiencing a traumatic event, and assessed PTSD at two or more time points within 12 months of the traumatic event.ResultsThe mean prevalence of PTSD across all studies decreases from 28.8% (range = 3.1–87.5%) at 1 month to 17.0% (range = 0.6–43.8%) at 12 months. However, when traumatic events are classified into intentional and non-intentional, the median prevalences trend down for the non-intentional trauma exposed populations, while the median prevalences in the intentional trauma category steadily increase from 11.8% to 23.3%. Across five studies with sufficient data, 37.1% of those exposed to intentional trauma develop PTSD. Among those with PTSD, about one third (34.8%) remit after 3 months. Nearly 40% of those with PTSD (39.1%) have a chronic course, and only a very small fraction (3.5%) of new PTSD cases appears after three months.ConclusionsUnderstanding the trajectories of PTSD over time, and how it may vary by type of traumatic event (intentional vs. non-intentional) will assist public health planning and treatment.

The radiological management of bomb blast injury

Background A terrorist attack occurred in Paris in January 2015 against the staffs of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher grocery. This study examined the psychological follow-up and the non-satisfaction of the people civilians involved in the terrorist attacks. Methods The IMPACTS survey, an open cohort study of civilians involved in the terrorist attacks was conducted 6-10 (wave 1) and 18-22 months (wave 2) after the attacks. Psychologists interviewed in face-to-face 190 civilians in wave 1 and 123 of them participate to the wave 2. A questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, exposure level, social support, psychological support and perception, impact on work and social functioning, and mental health disorders. Results In wave 1 (N = 190), 24% of participants had initiated a regular follow-up with a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Reasons of non-follow-up were: they had refused because they did not feel the need or they did not want to talk about it (60%), it was not suggested to them (30%), or they have already had a follow-up before (12%). In wave 2 (N = 123), 25% had a regular follow-up with a psychologist/psychiatrist since the events, 22.0% had had a follow-up but not anymore in wave 2, 15% did not have a follow-up in wave 1 but they had in wave 2 and 38.2% never had. Psychological aid from professionals for resilience has not been appropriate for 32% of the participants at 6 months and for 39% at 18 months. In both waves, non-satisfaction of follow-up was more frequent among witnesses than with those who were directly exposed. Conclusions Six months after the January 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, among the participants without psychological follow-up, it was not offered to nearly a third of participants. In order to enhance resilience, psychological aid should also be provided to those who have not been directly exposed. Main message Psychological follow-up should be provided to all civilians in short and long-term.

Review Question: This review aims to answer the following specific question: What are nurses’ experiences of preparing for and managing the ethical challenges posed by catastrophic public health emergencies and health care disasters? Review Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review is to systematically review and synthesise research literature reporting nurses’ experiences of ethical preparedness for dealing with catastrophic public health emergencies and health care disasters and the ethical quandaries that may arise during such events. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Types of Participants: The review will consider publications that include nurses registered or authorised under a given country’s state of emergency provisions to practice in jurisdictions in which a public health emergency (e.g. pandemic influenza) or sudden‐onset mass casualty health care disaster (e.g. flood, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption, terrorist attack) have occurred, or may occur. Phenomena of interest: This review will examine the phenomenon of nurses’ experiences of preparing for and/or managing ethical issues arising during a public health emergency or health care disaster. Consideration will be given to, but not be limited to nurse preparation for and management of ethical issues associated with: development of local public health emergency (including pandemic influenza) and sudden‐onset health care disaster plans provision of first health care contact for the general public personal protection and correct use of safety equipment providing front line clinical care providing community and primary health care assistance with containment measures triaging in a range of settings, including general practices, community health centres, and local hospitals maintaining infection control vaccinations informing the public work attendance.

Three years after the terror attacks in Paris and Nice, this study aims to determine the level of interest, the technical skills and level of surgical activity in exsanguinating trauma care for a nonselected population of practicing French surgeons. A questionnaire was sent between July and December 2017 to French students and practicing surgeons, using the French Surgical Colleges' mailing lists. Items analyzed included education, training, interest and clinical activity in trauma care and damage-control surgery (DCS). 622 questionnaires were analyzed and was composed of 318 (51%) certificated surgeons, of whom 56% worked in university teaching hospitals and 47% in Level I trauma centers (TC1); 44% were digestive surgeons and 7% were military surgeons. The mean score of 'interest in trauma care' was 8/10. Factors associated with a higher score were being a resident doctor (p = 0.01), a digestive surgeon (p = 0.0013), in the military (p = 1,71 × 10) and working in TC1 (p = 0.034). The mean "DCS techniques knowledge" score was 6.2/10 and factors significantly associated with a higher score were being a digestive surgeon (respectively, p = 0.0007 and p = 0.001) and in the military (respectively p = 1.74 × 10 and p = 3.94 × 10). Reported clinical activity in trauma and DCS were low. Additional continuing surgical education courses in trauma were completed by 23% of surgeons. French surgeons surveyed showed considerable interest in trauma care and treatment. Despite this, and regardless of surgical speciality, their theoretical and practical knowledge of necessary DCS skills remain inadequate. Level III, Study Type Survey.

Background: PTSD is characterised by severe sleep disturbances, which is increasingly recognised to in many cases consist of similar symptomology to sleep disorders such as REM Behaviour Disorder (RBD). The present study aimed to investigate whether different aspects of sleep quality influence intrusive memory development and whether PTSD status moderates this relationship. Participants and Methods: 34 PTSD, 52 trauma-exposed (TE) and 42 non-trauma exposed (NTE) participants completed an emotional memory task, where they viewed 60 images (20 positive, 20 negative and 20 neutral) and, two days later, reported how many intrusive memories they had of each valence category. Participants also completed three measures of sleep quality: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the REM Behaviour Disorder Screening Questionnaire and total hours slept before each session. Results: The PTSD group reported poorer sleep quality than both TE and NTE groups on all three measures, and significantly more negative intrusive memories than the NTE group. Mediation analyses revealed that self-reported RBD symptomology before the second session mediated the relationship between PTSD status and intrusive memories. Follow-up moderation analyses revealed that self-reported RBD symptomology before the second session was only a significant predictor of intrusion in the PTSD group, though with a small effect size. Conclusions: These findings suggest that RBD symptomology is an indicator of consolidation of intrusive memories in PTSD but not trauma-exposed or healthy participants, which supports the relevance of characterising RBD in PTSD.

ContextBecause of worldwide increase of catastrophes and recent terrorist attacks, hospitals and physicians are devoting increased attention to disaster and mass casualty incident (MCI) preparedness not only outside but also inside hospitals. In case of a terrorist attack physicians have to cope with injuries caused by conventional, biological, chemical, or radioactive weapons.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the current state of preparedness of German hospitals and physicians in case of an MCI or terrorist attack and to compare those results to the preparedness of hospitals and physicians from Austria, Switzerland, the United States of America and a worldwide collective.Materials and MethodsUsing an online questionnaire, we interviewed 1343 physicians in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the US and a worldwide collective. The replies were analyzed statistically with the Shapiro-Walk test and the Mann-Whitney-U test.Resultsin Germany physicians are less prepared than their colleagues worldwide for disasters inside and outside hospitals. 48,4% of German physicians (37% worldwide) did not know their area of responsibility as a physician in case of an “internal” emergency (fire, water pipe burst, power cut), even though 30,2% of German physicians (29,1% worldwide) have already had a real emergency in their hospital. Only 65,3% of physicians in Germany (75,5% worldwide) knew their area of responsibility in case of an MCI; MCI training was given less often in Germany (42,7%) than worldwide (64,3%). Most physicians in every country were unaware of injury patterns and treatment strategies in patients following bombings or nuclear, chemical and biological contamination.ConclusionsHospital Physicians are insufficiently prepared for internal emergencies and MCIs. There is a need for more drills in hospitals. In spite of the recent threat of terrorist attacks, the physicians' emergency training should be modified to accommodate the increased risk of catastrophes and terrorist attacks.

The mediatisation of political communication indicates two main functions of the mass media: they report on events from the world of politics and create the images of political actors in the eyes of the public. I attempt to answer the question: can one talk about respecting the basic principles of journalistic ethics (the truth and the objectivity principles) in the times of the mediatisation of the public sphere? The theme of the article applies to terrorism, which is a form of political communication, having its own special expression. The activities of terrorist organisations influence the actions of the leaders of political life, citizens and the mass media. The research material consisted of Polish opinion-making weeklies Newsweek Polska and Polityka and national dailies in their printed versions: Gazeta Wyborcza and Rzeczpospolita. The time frame covered a period from 1 November 2015 to 11 December 2015. The topic of the article was treated as a case study.

Актуальність. Збільшення кількості надзвичайних ситуацій із масовим ураженням людей, зокрема через аварії на транспорті або терористичні напади, призводить до одночасного надходження значної кількості постраждалих осіб до закладів охорони здоров’я та потребує збільшення готовності системи охорони здоров’я до медичного реагування через постійний перегляд і опрацювання Плану реагування та взаємодії під час виникнення надзвичайних ситуацій і ліквідації їх наслідків. Під поняттям «події з масовим ураженням людей» (для закладу охорони здоров’я) у поданій статті розуміють ситуацію, через яку виникає невідповідність між одночасним надходженням значної кількості постраждалих і можливостями надання їм медичної допомоги без впровадження змін у повсякденні форми та методи роботи, на відміну від надзвичайної ситуації потреба залучення зовнішніх ресурсів закладом охорони здоров’я відсутня або мінімальна. Мета. Оптимізація інформаційного забезпечення системи управління медичною допомогою постраждалим при подіях із масовим ураженням людей. Матеріали та методи. Робота ґрунтується на власному досвіді організації та безпосередньому наданні медичної допомоги постраждалим при подіях із масовим ураженням людей і надзвичайних ситуаціях в Україні та за її межами, участі у міжнародних проектах і навчаннях, зокрема під егідою Європейської комісії гуманітарної допомоги та цивільного захисту. Під час проведення дослідження застосовано бібліографічний і семантичний методи пізнання. Узагальнено організаційні аспекти медичного забезпечення 46 випадків масового ураження людей, які відбулись у світі впродовж 1979–2015 рр., із них унаслідок терористичних нападів з використанням вибухових пристроїв — 33 (71,7 %), вогнепальної зброї проти незахищеного цивільного населення — 6 (13 %), пожежі в закладах відпочинку — 3 (6,5 %), сильнодіючих отруйних речовин — 2 (4,3 %) і внаслідок транспортних аварій — 2 (4,3 %). Результати. Організація медичної допомоги постраждалим внаслідок подій із масовим ураженням має ґрунтуватись на принципах 4С кризового менеджменту відповідно до введеного режиму функціонування органів і закладів охорони здоров’я. В системі охорони здоров’я України доцільно впровадити режими, що існують в країнах Європейського Союзу: 1) готовність до можливого надходження значної кількості постраждалих («зелений рівень»); 2) часткова мобілізація («жовтий рівень»); 3) повна мобілізації («червоний рівень»). Первинне медичне сортування постраждалих на догоспітальному етапі передбачає розподіл на дві основні групи: термінові та нетермінові. Нетермінових постраждалих слід доставити до лікарень, які географічно розташовано недалеко від місця події, але не до найближчого закладу, який має бути готовим до надання екстреної медичної допомоги терміновим хворим і тим, хто звернувся самостійно (самозвернення), кількість яких може суттєво перевищувати тих, кого доставлено бригадами екстреної (швидкої) медичної допомоги. До групи управління закладу охорони здоров’я включають відповідальних чергових — лікаря-хірурга та лікаря-анестезіолога. До форм інформаційного забезпечення системи управління надання медичної допомоги на догоспітальному етапу належать: 1) сили та засоби на місці події; 2) розподіл постраждалих на місці події; 3) потреба підсилення догоспітального етапу. На госпітальному етапі визначають можливості проведення хірургічних операцій та кількість вільних лікарняних ліжок: 1) операційний блок; 2) лікарняні ліжка. Висновки. В систему охорони здоров’я України при подіях із масовим ураженням людей доцільно впровадити відповідні рівні функціонування, що використовують в країнах Європейського Союзу. Перерозподіл наявних ресурсів охорони здоров’я при наданні медичної допомоги постраждалим при подіях із масовим ураженням людей на догоспітальному та госпітальному етапах критично важливе для збереження життя та здоров’я постраждалих. Управління надання медичної допомоги при масовому ураженні людей потребує відповідного інформаційного забезпечення догоспітального та госпітального етапів, впровадження галузевої та міжвідомчої взаємодії.