Medico-Legal Cases (MLC) Presented at a Tertiary Care Center and Acute Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among the Survivors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36552/pjns.v25i2.537Keywords:
Critical Medicine, Medico-Legal CasesAbstract
Objectives: An observational, prospective study was conducted to determine the incidence and risk factors associated with victims of physical assault and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Material & Methods: All the registered medico-legal cases reported to the emergency department of Gambat hospital were included in the study. The data was collected on a predefined questionnaire including age, gender, mode of injury, weapon of the injury, type of assault (blunt or penetrating), firearm injuries, and road traffic accidents from medico-legal registers. Impact of Event Scale (IES) was used to assess Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Results: The mean age (SD) of victims was 29.3 (10.25) years. Blunt injuries were experienced by 47 (31.33%) victims. The majority of the victims suffered road traffic collision injuries, 59 (39.33%). Forty-eight (32%) victims had substantially higher IES scores (above 37) that confirmed severe PTSD that may contribute to the suppression of the immune system’s functioning among survivors. The majority of the victims were between 18 and 40 years.
Conclusion: The most common cases were related to road traffic collisions followed by blunt injuries. The incidence rate of PTSD was also prevalent in these individuals. Thus, strategies should be developed to prevent such incidents and those who suffer from such traumatic events must be offered psychiatric consultation.
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