Psychophysiologic assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam nurse veterans who witnessed injury or death

This study examined whether witnessing death and injury could produce psych ophysiologically responsive posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participa nts consisted of medication-free female Vietnam nurse veterans with a diagn osis of current PTSD (n = 17) and who never had PTSD (n = 21), related to t heir military service. Individualized scripts describing personal traumatic military nursing events, a standard military nursing event, and other life events were tape recorded and played back to the participant while heart r ate, skin conductance, and facial electromyograms were recorded. Nurses wit h PTSD showed significantly larger physiologic responses than non-PTSD nurs es only during imagery of military-related nursing events. The groups' self -reported emotional responses did not differ during imagery. Psychophysiolo gic results support the proposition that witnessing death and serious injur y to others is sufficiently stressful to cause PTSD.