TY - JOUR
T1 - Pharmacotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder
T2 - Systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Hoskins, Mathew
AU - Pearce, Jennifer
AU - Bethell, Andrew
AU - Dankova, Liliya
AU - Barbui, Corrado
AU - Tol, Wietse A.
AU - Van Ommeren, Mark
AU - De Jong, Joop
AU - Seedat, Soraya
AU - Chen, Hanhui
AU - Bisson, Jonathan I.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Royal College of Psychiatrists. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/2/1
Y1 - 2015/2/1
N2 - Background: Pharmacological treatment is widely used for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) despite questions over its efficacy. Aims: To determine the efficacy of all types of pharmacotherapy, as monotherapy, in reducing symptoms of PTSD, and to assess acceptability. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials was undertaken; 51 studies were included. Results: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were found to be statistically superior to placebo in reduction of PTSD symptoms but the effect size was small (standardised mean difference -0.23, 95% CI -0.33 to -0.12). For individual pharmacological agents compared with placebo in two or more trials, we found small statistically significant evidence of efficacy for fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine. Conclusions: Some drugs have a small positive impact on PTSD symptoms and are acceptable. Fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine may be considered as potential treatments for the disorder. For most drugs there is inadequate evidence regarding efficacy for PTSD, pointing to the need for more research in this area.
AB - Background: Pharmacological treatment is widely used for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) despite questions over its efficacy. Aims: To determine the efficacy of all types of pharmacotherapy, as monotherapy, in reducing symptoms of PTSD, and to assess acceptability. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials was undertaken; 51 studies were included. Results: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were found to be statistically superior to placebo in reduction of PTSD symptoms but the effect size was small (standardised mean difference -0.23, 95% CI -0.33 to -0.12). For individual pharmacological agents compared with placebo in two or more trials, we found small statistically significant evidence of efficacy for fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine. Conclusions: Some drugs have a small positive impact on PTSD symptoms and are acceptable. Fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine may be considered as potential treatments for the disorder. For most drugs there is inadequate evidence regarding efficacy for PTSD, pointing to the need for more research in this area.
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U2 - 10.1192/bjp.bp.114.148551
DO - 10.1192/bjp.bp.114.148551
M3 - Review article
C2 - 25644881
AN - SCOPUS:84923011930
SN - 0007-1250
VL - 206
SP - 93
EP - 100
JO - British Journal of Psychiatry
JF - British Journal of Psychiatry
IS - 2
ER -