Are patients after severe injury who drop out of a longitudinal study at high risk of mental disorder?

Abstract

Are patients after severe injury who drop out of a longitudinal study at high risk of mental disorder? Are patients after severe injury who drop out of a longitudinal study at high risk of mental disorder? AbstractIn longitudinal studies of traumatic stress, it is particularly important to examine the data for any differences between those who drop out and those who continue to participate, because reluctance to participate might reflect symptoms of avoidance frequently seen in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, whether those who drop out are at high risk of PTSD remains unclear. Over a 25-month period, 188 consecutive patients with motor vehicle accident (MVA)-related injuries admitted emergently were enrolled and followed for 4 to 6 weeks. Baseline characteristics were compared between subjects who did and did not participate in the follow-up study. At 4 to 6 weeks, 66 (35.1%) of the participants had dropped out. Bivariate analyses revealed that those who dropped out were likely to be men, alcohol drinkers, smokers, and unconscious just after MVA and to have fewer years of education, less severe injuries, less posttraumatic symptoms, and lower cooperativeness as assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory. Logistic regression analysis revealed that male sex, unconsciousness during MVA, low cooperativeness, and less severe injuries were significant predictors of dropout. The literature says that male sex and unconsciousness just after MVA might be protective factors against MVA-related PTSD, whereas low cooperativeness is a risk factor for general mental problems. To summarize, it is expected that those who drop from the follow-up are unlikely to have MVA-related PTSD, but might have mental problems independent of injury. In longitudinal studies of traumatic stress, it is particularly important to examine the data for any differences between those who drop out and those who continue to participate, because reluctance to participate might reflect symptoms of avoidance frequently seen in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, whether or not those who drop out are at high risk for PTSD remains unclear. Over a 25-month period, 188 TITLE:consecutive patients with motor vehicle accident (MVA)-related injuries admitted emergently were enrolled and followed for 4-6 weeks. Baseline characteristics were compared between subjects who did and did not participate in the follow-up study. At 4-6 weeks, 66 (35.1%) of the participants had dropped out. Bivariate analyses revealed those who dropped out were likely to be men, alcohol drinkers, smokers, unconscious just after MVA, to have fewer years of education, less severe injuries, less posttraumatic symptoms, and lower cooperativeness as assessed by the Temperament and Cognitive

Efficacy of a burn-specific cognitive-behavioral group training

“…However, the rate and characteristics of non-completers in our study is comparable to other studies concerning long-term outcome of burn patients [45]. In a comparison of 15 different longitudinal studies concerning PTSD after severe injury, attrition rates of up to 55% were reported [46]. We dealt with the attrition rate in the present study by calculating ITT outcome analyses using linear mixed models, which are recommended for repeated measure data with many drop-outs [38,39].…”

Peritraumatic Distress Inventory as a predictor of post‐traumatic stress disorder after a severe motor vehicle accident

“…Second, the attrition rate was relatively high in this study, even though the patients who dropped out were not significantly different from those who participated in the follow‐up assessment in terms of the PDI and other covariates. In an earlier publication, we revealed that significant predictors of dropout were: male subjects, unconsciousness during MVA, low cooperativeness, and less severe injuries 38 . Participants with less severe injuries did not need to come to the NDMC for treatment after their discharge, which might affect the attrition rate.…”

Serum Oxytocin, Posttraumatic Coping and C-Reactive Protein in Motor Vehicle Accident Survivors by Gender

“…Those who provided blood samples did not differ with respect to age, gender, or ISS from those who did not. We previously reported that dropouts prior to the 1-month assessment were likely to be male, unconscious during the MVA, have low cooperativeness, and have fewer severe injuries [16]. …”