PSYCHIATRIC MORBIDITY IN MEDICAL AND SURGICAL PATIENTS EVACUATED FROMTHE PERSIAN-GULF-WAR

Acute treatment records of all medical and surgical patients evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., from the Pers ian Gulf theater (N = 161) were examined to better understand the rela tionship of injury to psychiatric symptoms. A total of 110 (68 percent ) sustained a traumatic injury. They were significantly more likely to have an axis I disorder or psychiatric symptoms of concern than parti cipants in the Persian Gulf War who did not sustain traumatic injuries but who were evacuated for medical conditions. The results indicate t hat traumatically injured veterans who are not injured and that they s hould be referred for psychiatric evaluation.