Psychiatric evaluation: an important component of multidisciplinary approach in pediatric burns.

OBJECTIVE

To identify psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses in pediatric burn intensive care patients and to retrospectively evaluate their relationship with the severity of the burn injury.

METHODS

Eighty-five cases for whom psychiatric consultation was requested in the Pediatric Burn Intensive Care Unit, Ankara Child Health, Hematology, and Oncology Training and Research Hospital between January 2013 to January 2017 were included. The relationships between clinical data from burn assessments and psychiatric symptoms were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS

Psychiatric pathology was identified in 57 cases admitted to the burn intensive care unit. Among the cases with identified psychiatric pathology, it was found that 50.8 % (n=29) received a diagnosis of acute stress disorder, while 40.3 % were diagnosed with post- traumatic stress disorder (n=23). In the comparison of cases with and without psychiatric pathology, no significant relationship was found with the percentage of burn surface area. The frequency of post-traumatic stress disorder was 14 times higher in cases with teeth grinding (p=0.022).

CONCLUSION

Psychiatric pathology can also emerge in cases with a small burn area. Therefore, the significant role of child psychiatry in the treatment of children hospitalized in burn centers should not be overlooked, and awareness of this process should be increased.