Pharmacological interventions to prevent post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Citation: Amos T, Stein DJ, Ipser JC. Pharmacological interventions for preventing post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2014;(7):CD006239.
Language: Abstract available in EN, ES, FR, and PT. Plain language summary available in EN, DE, ES, FR, HR, and PT. Full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: MRC Research Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders (South Africa) and National Institute for Health Research (UK).
What is this? In this Cochrane review, the authors searched for randomised controlled trials of pharmacological interventions for the prevention of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They limited their searches to adults aged 18 years or older, who had been exposed to a traumatic event but did not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. They searched in February 2014 and found nine short-term randomised controlled trials (345 participants) from the USA (5), Germany (2) and Israel (2). They also identified three ongoing studies and three articles that await assessment.
What works: The authors found that hydrocortisone may prevent the onset of PTSD in adults (4 trials, 165 participants). Three of the trials also reported that hydrocortisone may be more effective than placebo in reducing PTSD symptoms after exposure to trauma.
What doesn’t work: Nothing noted.
This summary was prepared by Catherine Haynes, checked by Grace Meng and finalised by William Summerskill.