Increased Skin Conductance Response Hours After Trauma Predicts Post-Traumatic Mental Health Sequelae

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex and heterogeneous syndrome that can develop in 10-20% of trauma exposed individuals. A number of effective early interventions that can be deployed in Emergency Departments (ED) may eventually be effective in diminishing the development of PTSD symptoms following such traumas. However, there is a need to quickly identify individuals at the highest risk for developing PTSD. One of the hallmarks of PTSD is increased psychophysiological arousal driven by the autonomic nervous system. Skin conductance response (SCR) to a trauma reminder using a novel mobile app offers a noninvasive, quantitative, biological measure that is associated with current PTSD status and symptom severity.