Interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms induced by medical events: A systematic review
This literature review looked at treatment of PTSD symptoms after medical events such as myocardial infarction and cancer diagnosis.
Article Abstract
“Objective: Medical events such as myocardial infarction and cancer diagnosis can induce symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The optimal treatment of PTSD symptoms in this context is unknown.
Methods: A literature search of 6 biomedical electronic databases was conducted from database inception to November 2018. Studies were eligible if they used a randomized design and evaluated the effect of treatments on medical event-induced PTSD symptoms in adults. A random effects model was used to pool data when two or more comparable studies were available.
Results: Six trials met full inclusion criteria. Studies ranged in size from 21 to 81 patients, and included patients with PTSD induced by cardiac events, cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis, and stem cell transplantation. All trials assessed psychological interventions. Two trials comparing a form of exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with assessment-only control found that CBT resulted in lower PTSD symptoms [Hedges’s g = −0.47, (95% CI -0.82 – −0.12), p = .009]. A third trial compared imaginal exposure (another form of exposure-based CBT) with an attention control and found a trend toward reduced PTSD symptoms. Three trials compared eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) with active psychological treatments (imaginal exposure, conventional CBT, and relaxation therapy), and found that EMDR was more effective.
Conclusion: CBT and EMDR may be promising approaches to reducing PTSD symptoms due to medical events. However, additional trials are needed in this patient population.”
—Description from publisher
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Haerizadeh, M., Sumner, J. A., Birk, J. L., Gonzalez, C., Heyman-Kantor, R., Falzon, L., Gershengoren, L., Shapiro, P., & Kronish, I. M. (2020). Interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms induced by medical events: A systematic review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 129: 109908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.109908
Date
February 8, 2020
Creator(s)
Mytra Haerizadeh, Jennifer A. Sumner, Jeffrey L. Birk
Contributor(s)
Christopher Gonzalez, Reuben Heyman-Kantor, Louise Falzon, Liliya Gershengoren, Peter Shapiro, Ian M. Kronish
Topics
Medical/Somatic, PTSD
Publisher
Elsevier
Rights
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
APA Citation
Haerizadeh, M., Sumner, J. A., Birk, J. L., Gonzalez, C., Heyman-Kantor, R., Falzon, L., Gershengoren, L., Shapiro, P., & Kronish, I. M. (2020). Interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms induced by medical events: A systematic review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 129: 109908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.109908
Audience
EMDR Therapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
Language
English
Content Type
Article, Meta-analyses/Systematic Reviews, Peer-Reviewed
Access Type
External Resource