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The following is a summary of “Towards accurate screening and prevention for PTSD (2-ASAP): protocol of a longitudinal prospective cohort study,” published in the October 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Karchoud et al.
Effective preventive interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) require early identification of individuals at risk, highlighting the need for accurate prognostic risk screening instruments suitable for recently trauma-exposed adults.
Researchers conducted a prospective cohort study to validate machine learning models for identifying individuals at risk of developing PTSD.
They enrolled 863 adults (436 females, 427 males) who were recently exposed to acute civilian trauma, including victims of accidents, crime, and calamities at Victim Support Netherlands, who underwent medical evaluation for suspected traumatic injuries through emergency transport to the emergency department. Within 2 months post-trauma, participants completed baseline self-report questionnaires covering demographics, medical and traumatic event characteristics, potential PTSD risk and protective factors, PTSD symptom severity, and current best-practice PTSD screening instruments. Follow-up assessments occurred at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-trauma, evaluating PTSD symptom severity and other adverse outcomes through additional self-report questionnaires.
The study concluded that developing a user-friendly online screening instrument could enhance accurate PTSD screening and prevention for recently trauma-exposed civilians, enabling targeted interventions to improve psychological, functional, and economic outcomes.
Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-06110-6
