Ayushi Devendra Singh1 , G. Gopalakrishnan2
BACKGROUND RTAs are becoming more common as the victims sustain physical as well as psychological distress, which often go unrecognized. The psychological issues can be either acute or chronic in nature. Despite these, they are often poorly detected and managed. This study is aimed at estimating the occurrence of psychiatric morbidity among the injured road accident victims. METHODS 75 RTA victims, above the age of 18 years, who were admitted to MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital in various wards, who had stayed in the ward for at least 2 weeks with no past or current history of mental disorders were included in this study. Informed consent was obtained from the patients before conducting the interview. The questionnaires PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were applied for screening and assessing the severity of the illness. RESULTS Out of 75 patients, 38 (50.66%) were found to have some psychiatric morbidity. Out of these 38 patients, 23 (30.66%) had mild anxiety, 6 (8%) had moderate anxiety and 1 (1.33%) had severe anxiety disorder. 4 (5.33%) had moderate depressive disorder and 3 (4%) had mixed anxiety and depressive disorder. CONCLUSIONS Road traffic accidents may lead to some serious and long-term psychiatric illnesses, which often go unrecognized at the time of the accident. Undiagnosed and untreated patients with psychiatric morbidity might affect the treatment and cause overall poor quality of life. Thus, early intervention can help to curb the occurrence of psychological distress among the RTA victims and improve the individual’s overall performance.
