Post-traumatic stress disorder

After six months, one in six still presented with the full blown syndrome. [...]15 years ago, it was widely accepted that most children responded to frightening events with transient distress and that not all children who experienced a potentially traumatic event reacted with disabling stress reactions. 4 One reason for underestimating the effects of traumatic events on children was that the evidence was incomplete. To some, it may seem that the disorder is potentially so commonplace as to have lost all credibility. 6 I believe that PTSD is susceptible to clear diagnosis, that it is real, that it is distressing and disabling, that it can be long lasting, and that it can be treated. [...]paediatricians are very likely to encounter it among children who present following accidents, particularly road traffic accidents, and so they should consider ways to ameliorate the predictable emotional consequences of acts that bring children to A&E departments.