Brief Report: Utility of a Short Screening Scale for DSM-IV PTSD in Primary Care

Objective: To evaluate Breslau's 7-item screen for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for use in primary care.

Design: One hundred and thirty-four patients were recruited from primary care clinics at a large medical center. Participants completed the self-administered 7-item PTSD screen. Later, psychologists blinded to the results of the screen-interviewed patients using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios (LR) were calculated using the CAPS as the criterion for PTSD.

Results: The screen appears to have test-retest reliability (r=.84), and LRs range from 0.04 to 13.4.

Conclusions: Screening for PTSD in primary care is time efficient and has the potential to increase the detection of previously unrecognized PTSD.