Early assessment and identification of posttraumatic stress disorder, satisfaction with appearance and coping in patients with burns

BackgroundThe first year after severe burn is a psychologically challenging period for the patient. Patients may still struggle with burn-related physical and psychological problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and body image dissatisfaction (BID).AimThis study investigates the presence of PTSD, BID and coping, at three, six and twelve months after discharge for early identification of patients in need of focused support during rehabilitation.MethodsFifty-two adult patients with different degrees of burns were followed at three, six and twelve months after discharge and 36 patients completed all assessment points. A standardized clinical protocol was used for systematic assessment of PTSD (IES-R), BID (SWAP-Swe) and Coping (CBQ). The follow-up included an intervention with a burn nurse as a complement to the existing program.ResultsApproximately half of the patients had a risk of developing PTSD three months after discharge from hospital, and body image dissatisfaction was found to potentially predict risk of PTSD during follow-up.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that it is important to include patients with less extensive burns in follow-up as this group is at risk of development of PTSD. Using standardized questionnaires in early follow-up along with assessment of body image dissatisfaction may facilitate detection of psychological problems.