In the pediatric intensive care unitparents of patientsacute stress disorder, depression andposttraumatic stress disorderevaluation in terms of

The parents of children hospitalized at PICU are at risk for acute stress disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. This study aims to compare the parents of PICU patients with those of healthy children to assess the risk status. Additionally, the relationships between parental and patient data were examined to identify factors that may contribute to the development of psychological morbidities. The study was conducted with the parents of children aged 1 month to 18 years who were admitted to PICU between October 1, 2022, and October 1, 2023, and those who presented to the outpatient clinic for routine check-ups. Parents of children who stayed <48 hours in the study group and parents of children with chronic illnesses in the control group were not included in the study. Care was taken to ensure equal distribution in terms of age and gender of children in both groups. Demographic data of parents (age, mother/father, marital status, occupation, potential job change due to child's hospitalization, education level, income status, number of children, presence of chronic illness and/or psychiatric diagnosis, addiction status, place of residence), perceived social support, and religious beliefs were recorded to assess relaxation status. In the study group, the following data were recorded for children: age, gender, admission diagnosis, presence of chronic illness, time elapsed between onset of symptoms and admission, need for IMV and duration, time from admission to intubation if intubation was required, occurrence of seizures, PICU risk scores, need for additional interventions, history of previous admissions to PICU, whether the admission was from within the city or from outside, mode of transportation to the hospital, location of initial medical intervention for the child, and the patient's mortality status. Parents were administered the Acute Stress Disorder Scale (ASDS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Traumatic Stress Symptoms Scale (TSSS), and their scores were recorded; classification was made based on cutoff scores for BDI and TSSS. A total of 220 individuals were included in the study, with 130 parents in the study group and 90 parents in the control group. 57.3% of the parents were mothers, and the median age was 37. In the entire group, 95.9% of the parents were married, with a median number of children being 2. 30% were housewives, 31.8% had primary school education, 65% rated their income status as moderate, 18.2% had a chronic illness, 5.9% had a psychiatric diagnosis, 66.4% had no addiction, and 83.2% lived in urban areas. In the control group, parents had higher levels of education and income compared to the study group. The number of parents living in rural areas, the number of children, and the number of individuals indicating the need for home care were higher in the study group compared to the control group. In the study group, 50% of parents had a high perception of social support. Among the children included in the study, 50.5% were male, with a median age of 6.5 years. The most common admission diagnosis in the study group was respiratory distress, accounting for 40%, with a median PIM3 score of 4.9, PRISM4 score of 8, and PELOD2 score of 3. 63.8% of patients had a chronic illness, and 23% had a history of previous admissions to PICU. The median time between onset of symptoms and admission to PICU was 15 hours, with 86.2% of admissions being within the city, 71.5% using private vehicles for transportation, and 38.1% receiving initial medical intervention at the Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine pediatric emergency department. 76.2% of hospitalized patients were managed with IMV, with a median duration of 6 days. Among the patients who required intubation during follow-up, intubation was performed at a mean of 18 hours after admission. During follow-up, 26.2% of patients had seizures, and 21.5% required additional interventions. Nine patients died during intensive care follow-up in the Study group. In the study group, median scores for the surveys were determined as follows: ASDS: 2, BDI: 15, and TSSS: 21. ASDS and BDI scores were significantly higher compared to the control group. Being a mother, younger age, presence of chronic illness, and low perception of social support among parental characteristics were identified as risk factors. Among patient characteristics, older age, presence of chronic illness, history of previous admissions to PICU, admission with a diagnosis of status epilepticus, experiencing seizures during follow-up, seeking medical care from outside the city, and transportation to the hospital by ambulance were identified as risk factors. Being managed with IMV was identified as a factor reducing the risk of ASDS. As a result, parents of children hospitalized in PICU are at high risk for developing acute stress sisorder and depression, and the factors contributing to these conditions vary. There is a need for more comprehensive studies to enable healthcare professionals interacting with parents during hospitalization to predict and provide appropriate guidance to the potentially at-risk parent group.