Prevalence and Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Symptomatology Among Burn Survivors

Burns can be a traumatic and stressful experience, although each patient may respond in very different ways. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the variability on Post-traumatic stress disorder and Acute Stress Disorder prevalence, and evaluate the specific weight of different variables on Post-traumatic stress disorder development among adult burn patients. Methods: A systematic review was carried out to explore the prevalence of acute and Post-traumatic stress disorder and identify their predictors. Meta-analytical methods were used to explore the strength of association between Posttraumatic stress disorder and the latter. From an initial pool of 190 studies, 24 were used in the systematic review, and only 19studies could be used for the meta-analysis due to different methodological limitations. Outcomes: The prevalence of Acute Stress Disorder at baseline ranged from 2 to 30% and prevalence of Post-traumatic stress disorder ranged from 3 to 35% at 1 month, 2-40% between 3 and 6 months, 9-45% in the year post-injury and ranged 7-25% more than two years later. Life threat perception was the strongest predictor for Post-traumatic stress disorder occurrence, followed by acute intrusive symptoms and pain associated with burn injuries. Conclusions: Predictive variables identified in this research may be useful in targeting burn patients who are at risk for developing post-traumatic stress symptoms and stress related psychological symptoms.