engleski

Diagnosing posttraumatic stress disorder

The response of human beings to traumatic life- event has always been regarded with great interest and consequently recognized and described since ancient times. However, one major response, post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has appeared relatively recently in diagnostic manuals as a separate condition. In 1980, it was added by the American Psychiatric Association to its third edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) nosologic classification scheme. The concept of PTSD has been evolving ever since. Nowadays assessment is based on DSM-IV - completed in 1994 and revised in 2000. Another commonly used medical diagnostic classification, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) by the World Health Organization (WHO), recognized PTSD as a separate diagnostic entity in 1993. Criteria for PTSD in its current 10th revision differ in important aspects from those in DSM-IV according to the fact that fundamental concepts in the field of PTSD are still being discussed. A wide rang of challenges to the current conceptions, nosology, and assessment procedures for PTSD are being laid out. These issues have implications for revision of PTSD criteria in the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- V), which is expected in May 2013. Many potential biomarkers for PTSD have been identified, but without strong evidence for clinical implications. However, psychophysiological, as well as neuroimaging studies, provide basis for possible diagnostic perspectives.

posttraumatic stress disorder; DSM

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