**4.2 An indicator for posttraumatic stress symptoms**

As mentioned in the Introduction, it is no surprise that the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory predicted posttraumatic symptoms in the present study. Although some previous prospective studies have failed to show that this Inventory is an independent predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder, these studies used the Inventory from 2 weeks (Kuhn et al., 2006) to several months (Birmes et al., 2005; Simeon et al., 2005) following a traumatic event. The time of assessment in the present study was within several days following the traumatic event in most participants, in order to minimize the effects of inaccurate memory over time. It is likely that the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory has a better predictive value when used early after a traumatic event, making it well suited for use in emergency departments.
