Post-traumatic Stress Disorder after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review

Objective The review aimed to summarize the existing knowledge base regarding post-traumatic stress disorder after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and try to guide future research. Method Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases were used to identify original studies that explored the relationship between severe TBI and post-traumatic stress disorder. Results A total of 13 studies were included in the review. They have been examined in terms of potentially compatible and incompatible mechanisms, as well as of possible confounding factors in relation to the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder after severe TBI. Conclusion Only a few studies in the literature have addressed the present topic; therefore, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in patients with severe TBI still needs to be further investigated. In particular, future studies should be conducted only in severe TBI populations, considering their premorbid personality characteristics and their reactivity alteration. They should also obtain an accurate and appropriate assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder with clinical interviews as well as clarifying the role of post-traumatic amnesia in this population by incorporating control groups of patients.