Post-traumatic stress symptoms and distress 1 year after burn injury

The occurrence and predictors of post-traumatic stress symptoms 1 year afte r a burn injury were assessed in a large prospective sample (N = 172). Part icipants completed a self-report post-traumatic stress symptom checklist at 3 time points: within 24 hours of admission to a burn center? 1 month afte r the injury and 1 year after the injury. A notable number of participants had a range of post-traumatic stress symptoms both at 1 month and at 1 pear after the burn injury. More than half of the sample reported recurrent int rusive recollections of the burn injury at 1 month and at 1 year. Other com monly endorsed symptoms were sleep disturbance, avoidance of thoughts or fe elings associated with the burn, and distress at reminders of the burn. The number of post-traumatic stress symptoms endorsed at 1 month was the only significant predictor of post-traumatic stress symptoms at 1 year. These re sults suggest that it is common for patients to have some post-traumatic sy mptoms 1 year after a burn injury and that early experiences of post-trauma tic stress symptoms may be associated with the development or maintenance o f post-traumatic stress disorder. We recommend that burn care professionals identify and intervene with patients who have clinically significant distr ess as a result of their burn injuries.