MPH alum-led study shows veteran, civilian patients at risk of ICU-related PTSD
Led by Mayur Patel, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Surgery and Neurosurgery at VUMC and staff surgeon and surgical intensivist at the Nashville VA Medical Center, the first-of-its-kind study of veterans and civilians, researchers found that one in 10 patients is at risk of having a new post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following their time in the intensive care unit (ICU).The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found that the cumulative incidence of PTSD following a critical illness and ICU experience was 6-12 percent and could occur up to one year after hospitalization.