Occupational Medicine Unit, Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy.
Occupational Medicine Unit, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Institute of Pavia, Italy.
Ind Health. 2020 Dec 4;58(6):565-572. doi: 10.2486/indhealth.2020-0079. Epub 2020 Jul 11.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may arise after events involving a risk to physical integrity or to life, one's own or that of others. It is characterized by intrusive symptoms, avoidance behaviors, and hyper-excitability. Outside certain categories (e.g., military and police), the syndrome is rarely described in the occupational setting. We report here five unusual cases of work-related PTSD, diagnosed with an interdisciplinary protocol (occupational health visit, psychiatric interview, psychological counselling and testing): (1) a 51-yr-old woman who had undergone three armed robbery attempts while working in a peripheral post office; (2) a 53-yr-old maintenance workman who had suffered serious burns on the job; (3) a 33-yr-old beauty center receptionist after sexual harassment and stalking by her male employer; (4) a 57-yr-old male psychiatrist assaulted by a psychotic outpatient; (5) a 40-yr-old woman, sales manager in a shoe store, after physical aggression by a thief. All patients required psychiatric help and pharmacological treatment, with difficulty of varying degrees in resuming work. We conclude that PTSD can develop even in professional categories generally considered to be at low risk. In such cases, a correct interdisciplinary diagnostic approach is fundamental for addressing therapy and for medico-legal actions.
创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）可能在涉及身体完整性或生命危险的事件发生后出现，无论是自己的还是他人的。其特征为侵入性症状、回避行为和过度兴奋。除了某些类别（如军人和警察）之外，职业环境中很少描述该综合征。我们报告了五个不常见的与工作相关的 PTSD 病例，这些病例通过跨学科协议（职业健康访问、精神病学访谈、心理咨询和测试）进行诊断：（1）一名 51 岁女性，在一个外围邮局工作时经历了三次武装抢劫企图；（2）一名 53 岁维修工人在工作中遭受严重烧伤；（3）一名 33 岁的美容院接待员，曾遭受男性雇主的性骚扰和跟踪；（4）一名 57 岁男精神科医生被一名精神病门诊患者袭击；（5）一名 40 岁女性，鞋店销售经理，曾遭到小偷的身体攻击。所有患者都需要精神科帮助和药物治疗，恢复工作的难度各不相同。我们得出结论，即使在通常被认为风险较低的职业类别中，也可能会出现 PTSD。在这种情况下，正确的跨学科诊断方法对于治疗和医疗法律行动至关重要。
