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This study examines the prevalence ratio of panic symptoms in the patients experiencing life-threatening trauma. Method: Patients coming with physical trauma resulting in head injuries, fractures, and gunshot and stab wounds were recruited through emergency room over a period of 12 months. Patients comprised of adult females and males, over 18 years of age. Patients were excluded if they were illiterate or experienced minor physical trauma, or had history of psychiatric illness. Patients were interviewed 10 days after the trauma. All the patients had under gone complete physical examination and routine investigations. Psychiatrist and psychologist made diagnosis for panic attacks after conducting structured interviews according to the criteria of DSM-IV-TR. Results 15.21% (911 out of 5988) patients came with severe physical trauma and 75.30% (686) were adult females and males. 288 patients (90 females, 198 males) received head injuries, 364 (150 females, 214 males) had fractures of different bones and 34 (6 females, 28 males) came with gunshot and stab wounds. 44.75% (307) experienced panic symptoms. Results showed that there were no significant differences in the symptom severity but more females suffered panic attacks than male patients. Discussion: Patient's perception of life threatening events increases the arousal, thus, determines the severity of panic attacks. Patients who had survived head injuries experienced more severe panic attacks and had respiratory symptoms, while rest of the patients experienced cardiovascular symptoms. Females showed vulnerability for panic attacks, which was related to trauma-specific variables, type of coping strategy employed and social support network.
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