engleski

Sertraline in the treatement of posttraumatic stress disorder

Sertraline is an oral antidepressant of selective serototnin reuktake inhibitor (SSRI) type and it is indicated for the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The lifetime prevalence of PTSD in general population is app.9% (civil PTSD). In so called risk groups (war veterans, victims of violent crimes) this percentage raises up to 58%. Rate of PTSD after natural disasters is 28-59%, and in rape victims is the highest (57-80%). Prevalence of pTSD after traffic accidents is 8-46%. There is limited number of studies concerning prevalence of pTSD in Croatian veterans and the rates various from 11-16%. PTSD is frequently chronic illness and is associated with unusually high rate (80%)of lifetime psychiatric comorbidity, esspecially major depression, alchoholism and drug abuse, panic disorder, other anxiety disorders and personality disorders. Optimally, a candidate therapy for PTSD should be well-tolerated, able to effectively trat the core clinical features of PTSD, common affective an danxiety disorder comorbidity, as well as to improve psychosocial functioning. the effectiveness of sertraline in the tretment of PTSDwas established in two multicenter placebo-controlled studies of adult outpatients who met DSM-III criteria for PTSD. Sertraline is the first and unique medication specifically approved for tretmanet of PTSD from FDA. Our clinical experience in treating Croatian combat-related PTSD patients with sertraline confirms efficacy, safety and tolerability of this medication.

setraline; treatment; posttraumatic stress disorder

Indeksirano u Excerpta Madica (EMBASE) ; Psychological abstracts/PsycINFO