Psychotraumatism can constitute for some people a real existential fracture, a real upheaval of the psychic organization.

Immediate psychological reactions can vary from one-off and temporary reactions to far more severe and sometimes enduring reactions.

We collected the case of a patient who was hospitalised in April 2015 for manic symptoms in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack, with a review of the literature.

This is Mr. A. F., aged 38, with a personal history of AVP and a shooting wound following a terrorist attack. He had presented a psychomotor instability and an exaltation of the mood in the immediate aftermath of an ambush.

Behavioural problems were identified by the psychiatric team during the group debriefing conducted at the HMPIT emergency room. During his hospitalisation, a chemotherapy based on thymoregulators, neuroleptics and anxiolytics was introduced.

The evolution was marked by a significant regression of the manic syndrome after ten days, and the installation of a post-traumatic stress condition (PTSD). At the end of eight months, the patient was able to resume his work with long-term thymoregulatory treatment, a ban on weapons and safety posts.

Manic episodes are rarely observed as an immediate post-traumatic reaction. Their occurrence does not prevent the subsequent installation of PTSD. Has psychic trauma revealed a latent psychosis? Is it a trauma-induced mood disorder?

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.