Infant illness severity and perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Risk factors for perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among parents of an infant in the NICU have varied in previous literature. The relationships between perception of illness severity and objective measures of illness severity with PTSD are not well understood.

Aims

To determine if PTSD among parents after an infant NICU discharge can be predicted by 1) objective measures of infant illness severity or 2) perceptions of infant illness severity.

Study design

A prospective, observational study.

Subjects

Parent/infant dyads who were in the NICU for ≥14 days.

Outcome measures

Objective measures of illness severity were obtained from the electronic health record. Perceptions of illness were measured by the response to the question, "How

SUBMITTER: Malin KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7237277 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature