A simple questionnaire could help predict whether a child injured in an accident is likely to develop post-traumatic stress, new research suggests.

Australian researchers found that a short questionnaire they developed to screen children for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was able to spot at-risk children in most cases.

The tool could offer a quick, inexpensive way to identify children who need help with the psychological aftermath of a physical trauma, the researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.

PTSD may be best known for its relationship to combat exposure, but people can also develop the disorder after suffering other types of trauma, such as a car crash, fall or other accident. Symptoms include flashbacks to the incident, nightmares, sleep problems, irritability and difficulty concentrating.

Research suggests that children injured in accidents commonly develop PTSD - up to 45 percent of the time, depending on the type of accident and the criteria used to diagnose the disorder.

Given this, the authors of the current study say, doctors need a simple questionnaire that can screen injured children for their risk of developing PTSD.

Children deemed to be at risk could then be referred for more extensive evaluation, explained lead study author Dr. Justin A. Kenardy, a professor of psychology and medicine at the University of Queensland.

For their study, Kenardy and his colleagues gave their screening questionnaire to 135 children ages 7 to 16 who were admitted to the hospital for injuries from a car crash, fall or other accident. Six months later, the children underwent the full standard interview used to diagnose PTSD.

Overall, Kenardy’s team found, the screening questionnaire identified 82 percent of the children who would develop PTSD, or at least some PTSD symptoms, within 6 months of their accident. It also accurately “screened out” three-quarters of those who would not develop the disorder.

Right now, children are not routinely screened for PTSD following an accident. Even if screening does become more common, there’s still a question of how to best manage the problem in children, according to Kenardy.

There is some evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy helps, he told Reuters Health, but the research is still in the “early days.”

Even less is known about how to intervene early and possibly prevent PTSD in high-risk children - an “issue of importance,” according to Kenardy. He said he and his colleagues have just completed a study testing just such an early therapy.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, September 2006.