Citation

Al Hariri M, Zgheib H, Abi Chebl K, Azar M, Hitti E, Bizri M, Rizk J, Kobeissy F, Mufarrij A. Medicine (Baltimore) 2022; 101(41): e31117.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/MD.0000000000031117

PMID

36253992

PMCID

PMC9575829

Abstract

Beirut Port blast's magnitude is considered the third after Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. This blast occurred in the densely populated section of Beirut, leaving more than six thousand injured patients. The psychological disturbances were assessed in the blast survivors who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC). This was a cross-sectional study at the ED of AUBMC. Identified patients were contacted and consented to participate in the study. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was selected as an outcome. Depression, PTSD, and concussion were assessed using patient health questionnaire (PHQ)-9, PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL5), and brain injury symptoms (BISx) tools, respectively. The association of patients and injury characteristics with the study outcome was assessed using logistic regression. 145 participants completed the study procedures. The participants' average age was 39.8 ± 15.4 years, and 60% were males. Almost half of the participants showed depression on PHQ, and 2-thirds had PTSD. The participant's age was negatively associated with PTSD, whereas being a female, having depression, and having a concussion were positively associated with PTSD. The results of this study were in line with the previous literature report except for the association between younger age and PTSD, which warrants further investigations to delineate the reasons.

Language: en

Keywords

Adult; Humans; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Young Adult; Explosions; *Brain Concussion/complications; *Brain Injuries/complications; *Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/complications