Nicole Baltrushes, MD; Niranjan S. Karnik, MD, PhD, FAPA Victims of military sexual trauma— University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine you see them, too
[email protected]. edu Sexual assault while serving in the military is not The authors reported no uncommon, and the effects linger long after veterans are potential conflict of interest relevant to this article. home—and seeing civilian physicians like you. CASE c a 29-year-old veteran (whom we’ll call Jane Practice Doe) served as a medical corpsman in iraq and has been recommendations pursuing a nursing degree since her honorable dis- › Routinely question veterans charge a year ago. She comes in for a visit and reports a about physical and sexual 3-month history of depression without suicidal ideation. in ad- assault. C dition, ms. Doe says, she has had abdominal pain that waxes › Suspect a history of military and wanes for the past month. The pain is diffuse and nonfocal sexual trauma (MST) in and appears to be unaffected by eating or bowel movements. veterans who present with She is unable to identify a particular pattern. multiple physical symptoms. The patient has no significant medical or psychiatric his- B tory, and a physical examination is unremarkable. you advise › Screen patients with a his- her to follow a simplified dietary regimen, avoiding spicy foods tory of MST for posttraumatic and limiting dairy intake, and schedule a follow-up visit in stress disorder and other 2 weeks. psychiatric comorbidities. B ince 2002, some 2.4 million US troops have served in Strength of recommendation (SOR) Iraq and Afghanistan,1 creating a new generation of vet- A Good-quality patient-oriented evidence S erans who need broad-based support to recover from B Inconsistent or limited-quality the physical and psychological wounds of war.