• Daisuke Nishi, Yutaka Matsuoka, Naohiro Yonemoto, Hiroko Noguchi, Yoshiharu Kim, and Shigenobu Kanba.
• Department of Psychiatry, National Disaster Medical Center, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
• Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2010 Apr 1;64(2):149-56.

AimThe aim of this study was to examine the utility of the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI) as a predictor of subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in severe motor vehicle accident survivors.MethodsPatients consecutively admitted to the intensive care unit were assessed immediately and 1 month after accidents in this prospective study. The predictive value for post-traumatic stress symptoms at 1 month of the PDI at initial assessment was examined by using multivariate regression analysis. Moreover, the accuracy of the PDI as a predictor of PTSD was determined using receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale - Revised questionnaire, and PTSD was assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale.ResultsSeventy-nine patients completed the Impact of Event Scale - Revised questionnaire, and 64 patients participated in a structured interview. Of 64 patients, 13 met the diagnostic criteria of full or partial PTSD. The PDI was an independent predictor of post-traumatic stress symptoms (P = 0.003). The data indicated that a cut-off score of 23 maximized the balance between sensitivity (77%) and specificity (82%) in this study. Compared with negative predictive value (93%), positive predictive value was not high (53%).ConclusionThe study suggests the predictive usefulness of the PDI for subsequent PTSD in accident survivors. Its adequate usage should be further elaborated.

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