Abstract

RESTREPO B, Diana et al. Psychosis and Self-inflicted Burns. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2011, vol.40, n.4, pp.798-806. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: The relationship between mental disorder and burns is complex. Mental disorders may predispose to burns and burns can facilitate the development of mental disorders. Method: Case report and literature review. Results: We present four cases of women with self-inflicted burns and psychotic symptoms. The average age of these women was 39.2 years. Burns were caused by fames in 100% of the cases and 27.2% of the total body surface was burned. Three of the patients (75%) had a bipolar disorder with mixed symptoms and in 50% of the patients the mental illness debuted with the self-inflicted burns. Conclusions: Basic psychopathology that may explain the occurrence of the injury and could hamper the process of recovery and rehabilitation should be explored in all burned patients.

Keywords : Burns; mental disorders; hallucinations.

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