title: Stress disorder and PTSD after burn injuries: a prospective study of predictors of PTSD at Sina Burn Center, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A burn injury can be a traumatic experience with tremendous social, physical, and psychological consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and predictors of PTSD Checklist score initially and 3 months after injury in burns victims admitted to the Sina Burn Center in north-west Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study examined adult patients aged 16-65 years with unintentional burns. The PTSD Checklist was used to screen for PTSD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Flame burns constituted 49.4% of all burns. Mean PTSD score was 23.8 ± 14.7 early in the hospitalization period and increased to 24.2 ± 14.3, 3 months after the burn injury. Twenty percent of victims 2 weeks into treatment had a positive PTSD screening test, and this figure increased to 31.5% after 3 months. The likelihood of developing a positive PTSD screening test increased significantly after 3 months (P < 0.01). Using multivariate regression analysis, factors independently predicting PTSD score were found to be age, gender, and percentage of total body surface area burned.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PTSD was a problem in the population studied and should be managed appropriately after hospital admission due to burn injury. Male gender, younger age, and higher total body surface area burned may predict a higher PTSD score after burn injury.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Center, Statistics and Epidemiology Department, School of Health and Nutrition.
authors.forename: Homayoun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sadeghi-Bazargani
authors.forename: Hemmat
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maghsoudi
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soudmand-Niri
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ranjbar
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mashadi-Abdollahi