Reducing PTSD in Hospitalized Burn Patients

The investigators propose to develop and pilot-test a short-term cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for hospitalized survivors of acute burns, in order to reduce posttraumatic symptoms before they consolidate into long-term posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is important because approximately one third of burn survivors develop PTSD after discharge. PTSD is associated with extended psychological suffering and a greater need for medical services in the future. Although there are treatments for chronic PTSD, there are far fewer interventions available to treat acute posttraumatic symptoms before they develop into this disorder, and none to date has focused on adult burn survivors. The little research available on other forms of trauma suggests that interventions developed to treat PTSD may be helpful in preventing PTSD when used in the first weeks following a trauma.

The investigators will develop a six-session intervention package for use with patients at the Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Burn Center. The intervention will translate CBT principles that have been validated with trauma survivors, but will be adapted to hospitalized burn patients. After manual development, we will pilot-test this treatment on 15 patients who are medically stable, and not critically ill, intubated, or delirious. Treatment will consist of three 50-minute CBT sessions per week, involving mindfulness-focused relaxation training, graduated exposure to memories of the burn, psychoeducation, and cognitive restructuring. Assessment will include standardized tests of posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression, administered at the initiation and termination of treatment, and at one-month follow-up. Also assessed will be number of hospital days to discharge and participant satisfaction with treatment. We will evaluate the overall feasibility of conducting a study on PTSD prevention in burn survivors, as measured by initial recruitment success, subsequent dropout rates at the end of treatment and at the one-month follow-up, and participant satisfaction. These data will then be used to support a subsequent application for funding of a larger-scale randomized clinical trial (RCT) study.