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Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disturbance that develops after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Such an event could be a battle, receiving a combat injury, witnessing the death of a person, rocket fire, sexual assault, etc. However, life-threatening events, such as the sudden death of a loved one, can also cause PTSD. Traumatic injury is a major stressor to the body and causes changes in the biological response. The aim was to determine the main patterns between the wound volume and changes in the levels of stress hormones in the blood serum of combatants at different stages of wound (traumatic) disease. Material and methods. The studies were conducted at the Hospital for Emergency Aid, Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern Region of Armed Forces Command, Kharkiv, Ukraine. The study involved 120 male combatants who were divided into 4 groups of 30 people depending on the wound volume. Levels of stress hormones were studied. A certain periodization was used depending on the processes that occur in the body in a certain period after injury. Results. On days 1-3 after wounding there was an increase in the levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in persons with medium and severe injuries. Starting from 4-5 days after injury, ACTH levele increase in individuals with mild wounding, but in patients with moderate and severe wounding, a decrease in hormone levels was found. Such a drop compared to initial levels may indicate certain changes in the body’s neuroendocrine response to trauma. Aldosterone level increased in severe wounding persons 14 days after injury in the absence of bleeding, which confirms the long-term and cumulative effect of trauma on the activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Conclusions. A positive dependence of hormonal stress indicators on the severity and duration of wounding in male combatants was established. It is advisable to continue studying the levels of cortisol, aldosterone and ACTH with the involvement of a larger number of wounded people, detailing the location of wounding, the «endocrinological» history of the patients, neurological and mental status, parameters of homeostasis system.
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