[The psychiatric consultation-liaison program and posttraumatic stress disorder due to burns].

Sixty-five acute burned inpatients were evaluated prospectively by structured questionnaire and clinical interview. All of the subjects hospitalized in a Burn Unit were referred for psychiatric examination to a psychiatric consultation-liaison programme. Most of the patients suffered adjustment disorders (n = 40), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was diagnosed in 5 cases. The carefully assessment of PTSD was an objective of the Study. There were no significant differences among patients with PTSD and Adjustment Disorder for severity and type of burn injuries. The discussion deals with PTSD is a frequent missed disorder by the medical staff of burn units, and also the importance of the patients subjective appraisal of the stressor as a factor precipitating PTSD.