The Management of Acute Stress Disorder: Implications for the Prevention of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Terror-Related Psychological Trauma and Anxiety in Children

This article addresses early intervention in Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) affecting children victims of terror and their parents, in an attempt to ease the reactive distress and prevent development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The latter disorder is chronic, associated with disability on numerous levels of functioning, and is highly prevalent among trauma victims, especially children. Construction of the interventional design involved reviewing the literature pertaining to the characteristics, risk factors, diagnostic classification and treatments of ASD. The treatment literature arises from studies of cognitivebehavioral intervention in adults suffering from ASD, as well as from studies of cognitive-behavioral intervention in children who have developed PTSD, with this technique having been found to be effective in both cases. The findings of these studies, in the absence of evidence-based medicine with respect to ASD intervention in the pediatric population, reinforce the assumed principle whereby relevance is attributed to early cognitive-behavioral intervention with the appropriate adaptation following trauma in this younger age group. The vignettes presented portray this principle, used to reduce reactive distress and facilitate organization and constructive coping of pediatric patients and their parents during the period surrounding the traumatic event. There remains a need for evidence-based trials providing long-term follow-up with respect to preventive efforts. MeSH Words: Acute Stress Reaction, Pediatrics, Terrorism, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Disaster Medicine, Mass Casualty Event.