Patterns of post-traumatic stress symptoms in families after paediatric intensive care

Abstract

Purpose: To establish longitudinal rates of post-traumatic stress in a cohort of child-parent pairs; to determine associations with poorer outcome. Method: This was a prospective longitudinal cohort study set in a 21-bed unit. In total 66 consecutive admissions aged 7-17 years were screened with one parent at 3 and 12 months post-discharge. Measures used were the Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-8) and the SPAN (short form of Davidson Trauma Scale). Results: In total 29 (44 %) child-parent pairs contained at least one member who scored above cut-off 12 months after discharge, with scores increasing over time for 18 parents and 26 children. At 3 months, 28 (42 %) parents and 20 (32 %) children scored above cut-off; at 12 months the rates were 18 (27 %) parents and 17 (26 %) children. Parents scoring above cut-off at 12 months were more likely to have had a child admitted non-electively (100 % vs. 77 %, p = 0.028); had higher 3-month anxiety scores (11.5 vs. 4.5, p = 0.001) and their children had higher post-traumatic stress scores at 3 months (14 vs. 8, p = 0.017). Children who scored above cut-off at 12 months had higher 3-month post-traumatic stress scores (18 vs. 7, p = 0.001) and higher Paediatric Index of Mortality (PIM) scores on admission (10 vs. 4, p = 0.037). Conclusions: The findings that (a) nearly half of families were still experiencing significant symptoms of post-traumatic stress 12 months after discharge; (b) their distress was predicted more by subjective than by objective factors and (c) many experienced delayed reactions, indicate the need for longerterm monitoring and more support for families in this situation. © Copyright jointly held by Springer and ESICM 2012.