POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND ROAD ACCIDENTS PUBLIQUE

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that can occur following a road traffic accident (MVA). We conducted a cross-sectional study of MVA victims followed up at the orthopedic department consultation, to determine the prevalence of PTSD in a population of road traffic accident victims and to investigate correlating factors. We used the Trauma Severity Scale (TSS) and the Post Traumatic Stress Scale (PCL-S). The prevalence of PTSD in these accident victims was 54.17%. Overall, the injuries were minor to moderate, and 36 subjects were disabled. Factors correlated with the occurrence of PTSD were female gender (p=0.043); rural origin (p=0.015); being non-motorized during the accident (p=0.05); passivity in the course of the accident (p=0.038) and the resulting disability (p=0.013). Our study shows that the prevalence of PTSD in road traffic accident victims is high, hence the need for multi-disciplinary collaboration to identify at-risk subjects at an early stage.