title: Quetiapine for treatment of refractory symptoms of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
abstract: To assess the effects of adjunctive quetiapine for treatment of refractory symptoms of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), charts of Vietnam veterans with war-connected PTSD who had been prescribed quetiapine were reviewed. Only patients with symptoms that had not responded to adequate therapy with two or more psychotropic medications prior to quetiapine treatment were analyzed. Addition of quetiapine to ongoing therapy resulted in further symptomatic improvements in DSM-IV PTSD criterion B (re-experiencing) for 35%, criterion C (avoidance/numbing) for 28%, and criterion D (arousal) for 65% of study subjects. Low doses of quetiapine (mean = 155 +/- 130 mg) were associated with minimal side effects. These results, although retrospective, suggest that augmentative quetiapine may benefit some refractory symptoms of PTSD in combat veterans.
authors.affiliation: Long Beach VA Health Care System, Mental Health Care Group, Long Beach, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Sokolski
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Denson
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reist
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate