Table 3.
Determinants of presumptive diagnosis of PTSD: univariate analysis (n = 508 patients)
| No PTSD (n = 483) | PTSD (n = 25) | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 status | No COVID-19, n(%) | 214/483 (44%) | 11/25 (44%) | 0.976 |
| COVID-19, n(%) | 269/483 (56%) | 14/25 (56%) | ||
| Sex | Men, n(%) | 323/483 (67%) | 5/25 (20%) | < 0.001 |
| Women, n(%) | 160/483 (33%) | 20/25 (80%) | ||
| Age, mean (SD) | 62 (13) [483] | 54 (15) [25] | 0.001 | |
| SAPS IIa, mean (SD) | 36 (15) [482] | 31 (12) [25] | 0.122 | |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation | No, n(%) | 194/483 (40%) | 10/24 (42%) | 0.884 |
| Yes, n(%) | 289/483 (60%) | 14/24 (58%) | ||
| Non-invasive ventilation | No, n(%) | 309/482 (64%) | 18/24 (75%) | 0.276 |
| Yes, n(%) | 173/482 (36%) | 6/24 (25%) | ||
| High-flow nasal oxygen | No, n(%) | 346/482 (72%) | 18/24 (75%) | 0.732 |
| Yes, n(%) | 136/482 (28%) | 6/24 (25%) | ||
| Use of vasopressors | No, n(%) | 252/482 (52%) | 15/24 (63%) | 0.328 |
| Yes, n(%) | 230/482 (48%) | 9/24 (38%) | ||
| Days in ICU | 7 (4–16) [483] | 4 (3–9) [25] | 0.046 | |
| Days in hospital after ICU discharge | 6 (2–12) [483] | 5 (2–13)[25] | 0.781 | |
| Childhood trauma and maltreatment (CTQ)b | ||||
| Emotional abuse | No, n(%) | 269/333 (81%) | 12/18 (67%) | 0.220 |
| Yes, n(%) | 64/333 (19%) | 6/18 (33%) | ||
| Physical abuse | No, n(%) | 293/336 (87%) | 13/18 (72%) | 0.081 |
| Yes, n(%) | 43/336 (13%) | 5/18 (28%) | ||
| Sexual abuse | No, n(%) | 306/337 (91%) | 14/18 (78%) | 0.089 |
| Yes, n(%) | 31/337 (9%) | 4/18 (22%) | ||
| Physical neglect | No, n(%) | 277/336 (82%) | 14/18 (78%) | 0.539 |
| Yes, n(%) | 59/336 (18%) | 4/18 (22%) | ||
| Emotional neglect | No, n(%) | 186/337 (55%) | 11/18 (61%) | 0.809 |
| Yes, n(%) | 151/337 (45%) | 7/18 (39%) | ||
| CTQ total scorec | 31 (28–37) [343] | 36 (29–43) [18] | 0.126 | |
| Exposure to the victimization items of LEC5d | No, n(%) | 342/465 (74%) | 11/24 (46%) | |
| Yes, n(%) | 123/465 (26%) | 13/24 (54%) | 0.003 |
Boldface indicates significance with p < 0.05
PTSD posttraumatic stress disorder, SAPS Simplified Acute Physiology Score, CTQ Childhood trauma questionnaire, LEC-5, Life Events Checklist for DSM-5
Days in ICU, days after ICU discharge, and CTQ total score are presented as median with interquartile range (IQR) in parentheses
a SAPS II score may range from 0 to 156, with higher scores indicating more severe illness
b The CTQ is a 28-item questionnaire with a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = never true, 2 = rarely true, 3 = sometimes true, 4 = often true, 5 = very often true) split into five subscales exploring emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect, occurred during childhood. Each subscale is represented by five questions with a score range from 5 to 25. Guidelines specified the range of scores that fall into four categories according to the severity of abuse or neglect for each subscale: none to low, low to moderate, moderate to severe, and severe to extreme. Scores above the recommended cut-score for low severity on each of the subscales were considered cases of abuse and neglect. This criterion was chosen to emphasize test sensitivity to less severe cases
cWe used in our model the sum of the 25 items exploring the five subscales (without taking into account the 3 minimization/denial items used in a scale that screens for the likelihood of underreporting traumatic experiences)
dWe used in our model only exposure (as personally or as a witness) to one or more of the 4 items of victimization (physical assault, assault with a weapon, sexual assault or other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experience) among the 17 items of the LEC-5