1Dana-Cristina HERȚA*, 1Bogdan NEMEȘ, 1, 2Doina COZMAN
1Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania
2The 3rd Psychiatric Clinic, Cluj County Emergency Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Abstract
Data are scarce on how to accurately screen for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among survivors of motor vehicle accidents, work related accidents or burns. Authors assessed the utility of the Short PTSD Rating Interview (SPRINT) and PTSD Checklist – Civil Version (PCL-C) as screening tools in a clinical setting. The study included 45 participants of both sexes, treated in the Clinical Rehabilitation Hospital Cluj-Napoca, with a history of accidents threatening physical integrity or generating horror, fear, helplessness. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and Receiver Operatig Characteristic curves were analyzed for SPRINT and PCL-C. The Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale (CAPS) was used as putative golden standard. The Romanian version of SPRINT exhibited good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.903). A cutoff score of 18, with very good sensitivity and specificity and an optimal sensitivity – specificity balance, provides support for SPRINT as screening instrument in clinical settings for patients with severe trauma, ensuring effective identification and referral of positive cases for appropriate interventions. On the other hand, PCL-C exhibited insufficient diagnostic accuracy and efficiency as screening tool in the studied group, despite data reported by other studies for similar trauma populations.
Keywords: posttraumatic stress disorder, screening, motor vehicle accidents, work-related accidents, burns
