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Variceal haemorrhage and post‐traumatic stress disorder
Author(s) -
Carroll R. E. O.,
Masterton G.,
Gooday R.,
Cossar J. A.,
Couston M. C.,
Hayes P. C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
british journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0144-6657
DOI - 10.1348/014466599162755
Subject(s) - distressing , cirrhosis , bleed , psychology , psychiatry , medicine , surgery , chemistry
Objective. Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is thought to be relatively common following extremely distressing life‐threatening events. Patients with liver cirrhosis can experience severe brisk variceal haemorrhage during which they vomit litres of blood and may exsanguinate. We predicted that a significant proportion of survivors would suffer from PTSD. Design. PTSD assessment of 30 patients who had a haematemesis of more than four units of blood secondary to variceal bleeding and were fully conscious at the time of the bleed. Method. Structured Clinical Diagnostic Interview (SCID‐DSM‐III‐R) and self‐report measures. Results. Most found the experience distressing, but only 1 out of 30 patients fulfilled DSM‐III‐R diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Conclusion. PTSD in a sample of patients who survived life‐threatening variceal haemorrhage is much rarer than might reasonably have been anticipated. Possible reasons for this low prevalence of PTSD are discussed.