Post-traumatic stress disorder in an elderly combat veteran: a case report.
In this case report, an elderly combat veteran with a chronic course of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that was untreated for nearly 60 years was evaluated and treated with a combination of medication and graded exposure psychotherapy. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports on graded exposure in the elderly. The course of treatment lessened the key symptom domains of PTSD. Comorbid depression was also lessened. Although a single case report, it would appear that elderly patients do respond to psychotherapeutic techniques such as graded exposure therapy. Given the large percentage of the elderly population that has witnessed combat and due to the continuing military conflicts that the United States has been involved in over recent decades, treatments for PTSD in an aging population will be necessary.
Markowitz
Joseph D
JD
Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, 15 Medical Park, Columbia, SC 29203, USA.
D000367:Age Factors; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015283:Citalopram / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020280:Sertraline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D014857:Warfare; D047789:World War II
D015283:Citalopram; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline