Citation

Titscher A, Lumenta DB, Belke V, Kamolz LP, Frey M. Burns 2009; 35(5): 733-737.

Affiliation

Vienna Burn Centre, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.burns.2008.11.013

PMID

19303715

Abstract

Although self-inflicted burns comprise a rather small percentage of patients treated in burn units, they represent a challenging subgroup for the specialist team. According to the literature, these patients, often with a past psychiatric history, remain in the hospital longer due to delayed wound healing, increased number of operative sessions and reduced compliance. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence of psychiatric disorders and the overall outcome in patients with self-inflicted burns admitted to the Vienna Burn Centre in the past 11 years. We therefore reviewed the following parameters: past psychiatric history, burn extent, burn depth, mechanism of burn, treatment, length of hospital stay, and mortality. Based on our evaluation patients can be grouped into three distinct categories based on a simple two-axis diagram, the Self-Inflicted-Burns-Typology (SIB-T), including the parameters "psychiatric disorder" and "suicide attempt": "typical", "delirious" and "reactive". These three groups seem to differ in treatment outcome and later course of rehabilitation.

Language: en