Screening for post traumatic stress disorder

Screening for post-traumatic stress disorder 1 month after the event is recommended in the following individuals:

• people who have experienced a major disaster
• refugees and asylum seekers

People at high risk of acquiring PTSD can be detected by using several screening instruments (mainly questionnaires containing traumatic stress symptoms)

• in primary care the Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ) and the SPAN test have the greatest potential for routine use (1)
  • TSQ
    • contains ten questions requiring yes/no answers (1)
    • consists of the re-experiencing and arousal symptoms (2)
    • the person is inquired whether they have experienced each symptoms at least twice in the past week (1)
    • a total of six points or more out of ten points suggests a positive result for PTSD (2)
  • SPAN
    • comprises the 'startle', 'physiological upset on reminders', 'anger' and 'numbness' questions
      • scoring is more complicated when compared to TSQ
  • other screening questionnaires include:
    • Impact of Event Scale
    • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist
    • The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS)
    • The Davidson Trauma Scale (1)

Reference:

1. NICE. Post-traumatic stress disorder. NICE guideline NG116. Published December 2018, last reviewed April 2025
2. Phoenix Australia. Australian guidelines for the prevention and treatment of acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and complex PTSD. 2021 [internet publication].