Abstract
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is typically associated with a high degree of chronicity, comorbidity, and psychosocial disability. The efficacy of sertraline in the acute treatment of PTSD has been confirmed based on the results of 2 large, placebo-controlled studies, but almost no prospective long-term treatment studies have been reported. Method: One hundred twenty-eight patients who completed 12 weeks of double-blind, placebo-controlled, acute-phase treatment for DSM-III-R-defined PTSD with sertraline were continued into a 24-week open-label continuation phase. Efficacy was evaluated using the endpoint change in the 17-item Clinician Administered PTSD Scale Part 2 (CAPS-2) severity score, the 15-item patient-rated Impact of Event Scale, and the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement and -Severity of Illness scales as primary outcome measures. Treatment response was defined as ≥ 30% decrease in the CAPS-2 total severity score (compared with acute-phase baseline score) and a Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement score of 1 or 2. Results: Ninety-two percent of acute-phase responders maintained their response during the full 6 months of continuation treatment. In addition, 54% of acute-phase nonresponders converted to responder status during continuation therapy. Over the 36-week course of acute and continuation therapy, 20% to 25% of the improvement in the CAPS-2 severity score occurred during the continuation phase. Sertraline was well tolerated, with 8.6% of patients discontinuing due to adverse events. A high pretreatment CAPS-2 score (> 75) predicted a longer time to response and a greater likelihood that response occurred after 12 weeks of acute treatment. Conclusion: The acute efficacy of sertraline is sustained in the vast majority of patients, and at least half of nonresponders to acute treatment will eventually respond to continued treatment.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 325-331 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Clinical Psychiatry |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| State | Published - 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Clinical Psychology
Cite this
Sertraline treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder : Results of 24 weeks of open-label continuation treatment. / Londborg, P. D.; Hegel, M. T.; Goldstein, S.; Goldstein, D.; Himmelhoch, J. M.; Maddock, Richard J; Patterson, W. M.; Rausch, J.; Farfel, G. M.
In: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 62, No. 5, 2001, p. 325-331.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Sertraline treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder
T2 - Results of 24 weeks of open-label continuation treatment
AU - Londborg, P. D.
AU - Hegel, M. T.
AU - Goldstein, S.
AU - Goldstein, D.
AU - Himmelhoch, J. M.
AU - Maddock, Richard J
AU - Patterson, W. M.
AU - Rausch, J.
AU - Farfel, G. M.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is typically associated with a high degree of chronicity, comorbidity, and psychosocial disability. The efficacy of sertraline in the acute treatment of PTSD has been confirmed based on the results of 2 large, placebo-controlled studies, but almost no prospective long-term treatment studies have been reported. Method: One hundred twenty-eight patients who completed 12 weeks of double-blind, placebo-controlled, acute-phase treatment for DSM-III-R-defined PTSD with sertraline were continued into a 24-week open-label continuation phase. Efficacy was evaluated using the endpoint change in the 17-item Clinician Administered PTSD Scale Part 2 (CAPS-2) severity score, the 15-item patient-rated Impact of Event Scale, and the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement and -Severity of Illness scales as primary outcome measures. Treatment response was defined as ≥ 30% decrease in the CAPS-2 total severity score (compared with acute-phase baseline score) and a Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement score of 1 or 2. Results: Ninety-two percent of acute-phase responders maintained their response during the full 6 months of continuation treatment. In addition, 54% of acute-phase nonresponders converted to responder status during continuation therapy. Over the 36-week course of acute and continuation therapy, 20% to 25% of the improvement in the CAPS-2 severity score occurred during the continuation phase. Sertraline was well tolerated, with 8.6% of patients discontinuing due to adverse events. A high pretreatment CAPS-2 score (> 75) predicted a longer time to response and a greater likelihood that response occurred after 12 weeks of acute treatment. Conclusion: The acute efficacy of sertraline is sustained in the vast majority of patients, and at least half of nonresponders to acute treatment will eventually respond to continued treatment.
AB - Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is typically associated with a high degree of chronicity, comorbidity, and psychosocial disability. The efficacy of sertraline in the acute treatment of PTSD has been confirmed based on the results of 2 large, placebo-controlled studies, but almost no prospective long-term treatment studies have been reported. Method: One hundred twenty-eight patients who completed 12 weeks of double-blind, placebo-controlled, acute-phase treatment for DSM-III-R-defined PTSD with sertraline were continued into a 24-week open-label continuation phase. Efficacy was evaluated using the endpoint change in the 17-item Clinician Administered PTSD Scale Part 2 (CAPS-2) severity score, the 15-item patient-rated Impact of Event Scale, and the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement and -Severity of Illness scales as primary outcome measures. Treatment response was defined as ≥ 30% decrease in the CAPS-2 total severity score (compared with acute-phase baseline score) and a Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement score of 1 or 2. Results: Ninety-two percent of acute-phase responders maintained their response during the full 6 months of continuation treatment. In addition, 54% of acute-phase nonresponders converted to responder status during continuation therapy. Over the 36-week course of acute and continuation therapy, 20% to 25% of the improvement in the CAPS-2 severity score occurred during the continuation phase. Sertraline was well tolerated, with 8.6% of patients discontinuing due to adverse events. A high pretreatment CAPS-2 score (> 75) predicted a longer time to response and a greater likelihood that response occurred after 12 weeks of acute treatment. Conclusion: The acute efficacy of sertraline is sustained in the vast majority of patients, and at least half of nonresponders to acute treatment will eventually respond to continued treatment.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 11411812
AN - SCOPUS:0034970410
VL - 62
SP - 325
EP - 331
JO - Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
JF - Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
SN - 0160-6689
IS - 5
ER -