Post-traumatic stress disorder in patients with acute burn injury

Objective: to determine the risk of ptsd in patients with acute burn incidents. method: this was an observational prospective cross-sectional study conducted in admitted patients in burns ward of civil hospital, karachi during a period of 6 months from january 1 to june 30, 2011. data was collected through questionnaire having socio demographic variables and the impact of event-scale (ies-r) was used to determine the risk of ptsd. results: out of 145 patients, 12 (77.3%) were at risk of ptsd with 75 (66.9%) males and 37 (33%) females. out of these 112 cases, 50% belonged to age group 16-29 years. all burn patients with more than 60% total body surface area (tbsa) involved in injury were at risk. conclusion: the study reports an astronomic number of burns patients with ptsd risk. ptsd drastically affects the quality of life. the earlier this disorder is diagnosed and assessed; better chances are there for enhanced treatment and better recovery.