Behavioural, emotional, and post-traumatic stress problems in children and adolescents, long term after septic shock caused by Neisseria meningitidis.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To assess the occurrence of a wide range of behavioural, emotional, and post-traumatic stress problems in children and adolescents, long term after septic shock caused by Neisseria meningitidis (MSS). DESIGN: This study included 6- to 17-year-old patients who survived MSS and were admitted to the PICU of the Medical Centre between 1988 and 2001. To assess behavioural, emotional, and post-traumatic stress problems, the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), the Teacher's Report Form (TRF), and the Youth Self-Report (YSR) were used. METHODS: Parents of 89 MSS children, aged 6-17 years, completed the CBCL. Teachers of 65 same-aged MSS children completed the TRF, and 45 11- to 17-year-old MSS children completed the YSR. These data were compared with those from the normative reference groups. RESULTS: Overall, the proportions of MSS children scoring in the deviant range for problem behaviour were comparable to the proportions in the reference groups, according to parents', teachers', and self-reports. As to the level of emotional and behavioural problems, mothers of the MSS children reported more somatic complaints regarding their children in comparison with the reference groups. Severity of illness was not a significant predictor of behavioural, emotional, and post-traumatic stress problems. Age at the time of illness was a significant predictor of behavioural, emotional, and post-traumatic stress problems in MSS children, indicating that the younger the child at the time of illness, the more problems were reported by parents at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results showed long-term behavioural, emotional, and post-traumatic stress outcomes for MSS children, which were comparable to those in the general population.