Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prevalence and Population-Level Factors Contributing to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Pediatric Intensive Care Survivors

OBJECTIVES: In survivors of illnesses or surgeries requiring PICU admission, there is a risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We aimed to estimate PTSD prevalence and potential contributing factors in survivors of PICU admission. DATA SOURCES: We performed a PROSPERO registered systematic review (CRD42022348997; Registered August 2022) using MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases, 2000 to 2022, with no language restrictions. STUDY SELECTION: Observational or interventional studies evaluating the incidence or prevalence of PTSD in patients' after PICU admission and/or contributing factors to PTSD. We used studies describing patients younger than 18 years old. Since there were a large number of citations, we used an integrated crowdsourcing and machine-learning model for citation screening. Each citation was reviewed independently and in duplicate by two reviewers at each stage of screening and abstraction. DATA EXTRACTION: Data items included study and participant demographics, details of case definition (PTSD screening), and risk factors. DATA SYNTHESIS: We followed the Preferred Reporting items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines. Random-effects models were used to analyze PTSD prevalence and subgroup differences. In 24 citations meeting final review criteria, 19 had data for meta-analysis. There were 1898 PICU survivors with a median (interquartile range) cohort size of 59 (49-76). PTSD prevalence in the studies ranged from 3% to 37%; PTSD occurred in 529 of 1898 survivors (I² = 72%). Factors influencing PTSD variability included timing of assessment (p < 0.01) with the highest prevalence (29%) at 6 months and the type of assessment instrument (n = 10; range, 4-27%; p = 0.04). There was lower prevalence of PTSD (8%) in postoperative cardiac patients (p < 0.01). Last, we failed to find an association between PICU length of stay and PTSD prevalence (p = 0.62; I² = 80%). CONCLUSIONS: PICU follow-up studies from 2000 to 2022 indicate that one-in-three of admissions surviving to 6 months have PTSD. However, there are population, study design factors and heterogeneity in PTSD assessment that indicate more standardization in this research is needed.