Risk factors for the development of medical stress syndrome following surgical intervention
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Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗Article · Dec 2019 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
Prospective study of 235 pediatric surgical patients identifies parental stress, family social support concerns, and sibling problems as key predictors of post-surgical psychological distress in children. Emergency operations and multiple invasive procedures further increase PTSD risk in younger children (ages 1-5), highlighting the need for screening tools to identify high-risk patients for early intervention.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Background
Pediatric surgical procedures involve traumatic stress that may cause psychological distress, leading to decreased adherence to continued surgical follow-up and delayed physical recovery. Risk factors for pediatric medical trauma, however, have not been studied enough. We aim to define the risk factors detectable during hospitalization in pediatric surgery and characterize children at risk of developing PTSD, in order to focus preventive interventions on these children.
Methods
The participants in this prospective study were parents of 235 children aged 1–13 years hospitalized in a pediatric surgical ward, who form a representative sample of patients of this age in the ward. They completed questionnaires measuring symptoms of psychological distress, 3–5 months after discharge.
Results
Higher parental stress, parental concerns regarding family social support, and parental concerns regarding sibling problems had a significant positive correlation with the children's emotional distress measured 3–5 months after hospitalization. Among children aged 1–5 years, emergency (as opposed to elective) operation and a higher number of invasive procedures were also positively correlated with the children's PTSS.
Conclusions
There is a need to develop measurements for identifying children at high risk for developing posttraumatic stress following surgical intervention; guidelines for developing such a screening instrument are outlined.
Type of study
Prognosis study (level of evidence – 1).