A case report of occupational post-traumatic stress disorder in an emergency physician resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic The precision pathway from diagnosis to management in the contest of occupational medicine.

This article focuses on a case report of occupational post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a female emergency physician in Italy, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially misdiagnosed as burnout or adjustment disorder, the physician developed severe PTSD symptoms following the death of a COVID-19 patient she treated, which impaired her work performance and mental health. After a multidisciplinary evaluation in 2023, the correct PTSD diagnosis led to recognition as an occupational disease and permanent reassignment to a less stressful internal medicine unit, facilitating recovery. The report highlights challenges in differentiating PTSD from similar conditions in healthcare workers, the importance of accurate diagnosis for effective management, and proposes a multidisciplinary, individualized occupational health approach based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).