@article {Donker917, author = {G A Donker and C J Yzermans and P Spreeuwenberg and J van der Zee}, title = {Symptom attribution after a plane crash: comparison between self-reported symptoms and GP records.}, volume = {52}, number = {484}, pages = {917--922}, year = {2002}, publisher = {Royal College of General Practitioners}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: On 4 October 1992, an El Al Boeing 747-F cargo aeroplane crashed on two apartment buildings in Amsterdam. Thirty-nine residents on the ground and the four crew members of the plane died. In the years after, a gradually increasing number of people attributed physical signs and symptoms to their presence at the disaster scene. AIM: To investigate the consistency between patients{\textquoteright} symptoms attributed to the crash and GPs{\textquoteright} diagnoses and perception of the association with the crash. DESIGN OF STUDY: Comparison between self-reported symptoms to a call centre and GPs{\textquoteright} medical records on onset and type of symptoms, diagnoses, and GPs{\textquoteright} perception of association with the disaster, assessed by questionnaire. SETTING: Consenting patients (n = 621) contacting the call centre and their GPs. METHOD: Patients were interviewed by the call centre staff and interview data were recorded on a database. Questionnaires were sent to the consenting patients{\textquoteright} GPs, requesting their opinions on whether or not their patients{\textquoteright} symptoms were attributable to the effects of disaster. Baseline differences and differences in reported symptoms between interviewed patients and their GP records were tested using the chi2 test. RESULTS: The 553 responders reported on average 4.3 symptoms to the call centre. The majority of these symptoms (74\%) were reported to the GP. Of the ten most commonly reported symptoms, fatigue, skin complaints, feeling anxious or nervous, dyspnoea, and backache featured in 80\% of symptoms reported to the GP. One out of four symptoms was either reported to the GP before the disaster took place, or six or more years after (1998/1999, during a period of much media attention). Depression (7\%), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (5\%) and eczema (5\%) were most frequently diagnosed by GPs. They related 6\% of all reported symptoms to the disaster. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the symptoms attributed to a disaster by patients have been reported to their GP, who related only a small proportion of these to the disaster.}, issn = {0960-1643}, URL = {https://bjgp.org/content/52/484/917}, eprint = {https://bjgp.org/content/52/484/917.full.pdf}, journal = {British Journal of General Practice} }