Simple, Short Mental Health Test May Help Predict PTSD Risk In Injured Kids.

HealthDay (10/5, Mozes) reported that research published in Pediatrics suggests that “a simple, short mental health test already used for pediatric patients has been found effective at predicting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk among preschoolers seriously injured by such things as a burn or car crash.” The “Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale” questionnaire “was retooled into the PEDS-Early Screener (or PEDS-ES), designed to sift through parent-provided information and zero in specifically on long-term PTSD risk among injured preschoolers.” The study indicated that “by establishing an optimal scoring method, investigators achieved an 85 percent success rate at picking up PTSD risk, and a 63 percent success rate at specifically predicting the onset of either full or partial PTSD.”

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— “New Test Spots Risk for PTSD in Injured Kids, “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, October 4, 2013.

Posted in In The News.