Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: The Efficacy of a Single Dose IV Hydrocortisone Given Within 6 Hours of Exposure to a Traumatic Event in PTSD Prevention
Brief Summary: This study is designed to test the hypothesis that a single Hydrocortisone intra venous injection within 6 hours post-trauma facilitates physiological recovery thereby preventing the development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the months following the event. In the absence of such treatment (i.e., under placebo conditions), we hypothesize that a greater proportion of persons would develop PTSD (i.e., fail to recover from acute effects).


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Persons over the age of 21, who have been exposed to an event meeting the DSM-IV "A.1" criterion for trauma exposure, expressing marked anxiety, and/ or emotional distress and/or dissociation, as assessed by the Visual Analog Scales
2. Who provide written, informed consent to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Physical injury that would contraindicate participation or interfere with a subject's ability to give informed consent or cooperate with the screening or collection of initial measures. Examples include severe burn injury, life-threatening medical or surgical condition, condition requiring surgical intervention under general anesthesia, as indicated by Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), or by clinical judgment;
2. Head injury involving confusion, loss of consciousness, or amnesia;
3. Medical conditions such as extreme obesity, psoriasis, herpes, Cushing's syndrome, current infectious disease, current viral disease, tuberculosis, unstable diabetes or hypertension, myasthenia gravis, and heart failure. Persons taking medications that can interfere with the HPA axis (e.g.,steroids, betablockers,indomethacin) will be excluded;
4. Weight below 45 or above 120 kg.
5. Pregnancy (in suggestive cases, a pregnancy test will be performed);
6. Traumatic exposure that reflects ongoing victimization (e.g., domestic violence) to which the subject is likely to be re-exposed during the study period.
7. Overt psychopathology, intoxication, or under the influence of substances.
8. Evidence or history of schizophrenia, bipolar, other psychotic condition;
9. Prior history of PTSD;
10. Current or past history of dementia, amnesia, or other cognitive disorder predating trauma exposure;
11. Assessed serious suicide risk.
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age 18-64
* ISS \>15
* Infusion can be started within 24 hrs of arrival to FMLH (time of injury irrelevant)
* Admitted to Inpatient hospital trauma service (not Ortho/Plastics/Neurosurgery etc)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Age \<18 or \>64
* History of adverse reaction to ketamine therapy
* Chronic opioid therapy defined as \> 3 weeks of \>30mg oral morphine equivalents per day
* Current substance abuse with opioids including prescription and/or heroin
* Intubation on arrival or need for urgent intubation on arrival
* GCS \<13, significant traumatic brain injury, or suspicion of elevated intracranial pressure resulting in the patient's inability to communicate
* History of psychosis
* Active delirium
* Glaucoma
* Ischemic heart disease defined as active acute coronary syndrome
* Severe, poorly controlled hypertension (SBP \>200) on more than two readings
* Aortic Injury requiring HR and BP control
* Concurrent use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
* Pregnancy
* Prisoners
* Inability to start investigational drug infusion within 24 hours of arrival
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* Experienced an acute psychological traumatic event
* Heart rate of 80 beats per minute (bpm) or greater
* Understands English

Exclusion Criteria:

* Traumatic event that occurred more than four hours before arrival to emergency department
* Physical injury that may affect safe participation (e.g., head injury)
* Systolic blood pressure less than 100 mm Hg
* Medical or surgical condition that poses a risk of shock
* Medical condition that may affect the safe administration of propranolol
* Previous adverse reaction to, or non-compliance with, a beta-blocker
* Current use of medication that may react badly with propranolol
* Elevated saliva alcohol level
* Presence of salivary opiates, marijuana, cocaine, or amphetamines
* Pregnant or breastfeeding
* Traumatic event reflecting ongoing victimization
* Psychiatric condition that may affect safe participation
* Unwilling or unable to commute to Boston for research visits
* Attending physician in emergency department does not advise participation
D: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Clinical evidence of infection within the previous 72 hours (may be present longer than 72 hours) (a, b, c, or d - only 1 required)

   1. Presence of polymorphonuclear cells in a normally sterile body fluid (excluding blood);
   2. Culture or Gram stain of blood, sputum, urine or normally sterile body fluid positive for a pathogenic micro-organism;
   3. Focus of infection identified by visual inspection (e.g. ruptured bowel with the presence of free air or bowel contents in the abdomen found at the time of surgery, wound with purulent drainage);
   4. Other clinical evidence of infection - treated community acquired pneumonia, purpura fulminans, necrotising fascitis, etc.
2. Evidence of a systemic response to infection as defined by the presence of two or more of the following signs within the previous 24 hours. These signs may be present longer than 72 hours.

   1. Fever (temperature \>38.3°C) or hypothermia (rectal temperature \< 35.6°C);
   2. Tachycardia (heart rate of \>90 beat/min);
   3. Tachypnea (respiratory rate \> 20 breaths/min, PaC02\<32 mmHg) or patient requires invasive mechanical ventilation;
   4. Alteration of the WBC count \>12,000 cells/mm3, \<4,000 cells/mm3 or \>10% immature neutrophils (bands).
3. Evidence of shock defined by (A + B- both required within the previous 72 hours (may NOT be present longer than 72 hours).

A. A systolic blood pressure \< 90 mmHg or a decrease in SBP of more than 50 mmHg from baseline in previous hypertensive patients (for at least one hour) despite adequate fluid replacement OR need for vasopressors for at least one hour (infusion of dopamine ≥ 5 mcg/kg/min or any dose of adrenaline, noradrenaline, phenylephrine or vasopressin) to maintain a SBP ≥ 90 mmHg;

B. Hypoperfusion or organ dysfunction which is not the result of underlying diseases or drugs, but is attributable to sepsis, including one of the following:

1. Sustained oliguria (urine output \< 0.5 ml/kg/hr for a minimum of 1 hour)
2. Metabolic acidosis \[pH of \< 7.3, or a base deficit of \> or = 5.0 mmol/L, or an increased lactic acid concentration (\> 2 mmol/L)\].
3. Arterial hypoxemia (Pa02/FI02\<280 in the absence of pneumonia)(Pa02/FI02\<200 in the presence of pneumonia).
4. Thrombocytopenia - platelet count ≤ 100,000 cells/mm3.
5. Acute altered mental status (Glasgow Coma Scale \< 14 or acute change from baseline).

4. Informed Consent

5. Cortisol level at baseline and 60 minutes after 0.25 mg cosyntropin

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Pregnancy
2. Age less than 18.
3. Underlying disease with a prognosis for survival of less than 3 months.
4. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation within 72 hours before study.
5. Drug-induced immunosuppression, including chemotherapy or radiation therapy within 4 weeks before the study.
6. Administration of chronic corticosteroids in the last 6 months or acute steroid therapy (any dose) within 4 weeks (including inhaled steroids). Topical steroids are not exclusions.
7. HIV positivity.
8. Presence of an advanced directive to withhold or withdraw life sustaining treatment (i.e. DNR).
9. Advanced cancer with a life expectancy less than 3 months.
10. Acute myocardial infarction or pulmonary embolus.
11. Another experimental drug study within the last 30 days.
12. Moribund patients likely to die within 24 hours.
13. Patients in the ICU for more than 2 months at the time of the start of septic shock.

Answer: A