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Case 32 - “Bombs Are Falling! Run, Run!”

PTSD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2024

Matthew Gibfried  and
George T. Grossberg
Matthew Gibfried
Affiliation:
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri
George T. Grossberg
Affiliation:
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri
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Summary

The pharmacologic treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder attempts to alleviate the symptoms associated with the condition including anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. SSRIs are first-line medications and SNRIs such as venlafaxine are also effective, especially in instances where there has been a suboptimal response to SSRIs. There are quite a few options for nonpharmacologic therapy in older adults. Outcomes are best in those who participate in both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments. Some of the best outcomes are seen with cognitive behavioral therapy combined with pharmacotherapy. Follow-up for those with post-traumatic stress disorder should involve regular visits with a provider to assess response to treatment. Rating scales such as the PTSD Checklist 5 can be quite helpful in objectively assessing the severity and nature of symptoms over time. The prognosis varies widely among individuals and some patients may experience significant improvement or even full remission of symptoms over time.

Keywords

post-traumatic stress disorder
Type
Chapter
Information
Clinical Case Studies in Long-Term Care Psychiatry
Navigating Common Mental Health Challenges in Geriatric Care
 , pp. 158 - 166
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

References

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Further Reading

Lee, H., Lee, Y., Hong, Y., Lee, C., Park, W., Lee, R., & Oh, S. (2022). Neuroinflammation in post-traumatic stress disorder. Biomedicines, 10 (5). https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10050953CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, N. P., Kitchiner, N. J., Kenardy, J., Robertson, L., Lewis, C., & Bisson, J. I. (2018). Multiple session early psychological interventions for the prevention of post‐traumatic stress disorder. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019 (8). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006869.pub3Google Scholar

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