Early interventions for the prevention of PTSD in adults: a systematic literature review
Open accessAbstract
Background Secondary interventions are implemented within a short interval following the occurrence of traumatic events with the purpose of preventing the onset of PTSD. Objective Analyze the results of studies that assessed post-trauma interventions in adults aimed at preventing the onset of PTSD or symptoms related to PTSD. Methods We performed literature searches using the search expression [(Early intervention OR secondary prevention) AND (Post traumatic stress disorder OR PTSD)] for articles published until October 2016. Among the references found, 29 fulfilled the selection criteria established for the review. Data were divided and analyzed according to the type of intervention: pharmacological or psychological. Results Psychological measures used in the studies lack homogeneity regarding the type of intervention and the assessment of intervention outcomes. Pharmacological interventions were less frequent and findings require replication, together with an expansion in the types of substances investigated. In general, many of the studies reviewed suggest that both pharmacological and psychological interventions are effective in the prevention of PTSD. Discussion Future trials should be focused on determining the best interventions for the secondary prevention of PTSD. The combination of psychological and pharmacological interventions for post-trauma patients poses opportunities and challenges that remain unexplored.
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There were 44 reviews of psychological interventions which reported on distress-related outcomes in the time following injury.
“There were 44 reviews of psychological interventions which reported on distress-related outcomes in the time following injury (online supplemental table 1).333541”
From Impact of healthcare interventions on distress following acute musculoskeletal/orthopaedic injury: A scoping review of systematic reviews (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
The Results and discussion section reports 29 articles reviewed, of which 22 studies used psychological interventions—not 44 reviews. The Methods section explicitly says review articles were excluded. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredReviews of interventions to prevent PTSD which included multiple treatment sessions reported improvements in anxiety and depression.
“By contrast, reviews of interventions to prevent PTSD which included multiple treatment sessions reported improvements in anxiety and depression.3373 7680”
From Impact of healthcare interventions on distress following acute musculoskeletal/orthopaedic injury: A scoping review of systematic reviews (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
Table 2 (shown under Conclusion; page unavailable) reports a lower relative risk of depression after counseling delivered at two postpartum time points. It does not show improved anxiety after a multiple-session intervention: the six-session counseling study found no difference in anxiety or depressive symptoms, while the reported anxiety improvement followed a video intervention. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOther pharmacological agents, including benzodiazepines, were not found to be effective in preventing PTSD.
“Other pharmacological agents, including benzodiazepines, were not found to be effective in preventing PTSD.333537”
From Impact of healthcare interventions on distress following acute musculoskeletal/orthopaedic injury: A scoping review of systematic reviews (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
The Pharmacological interventions section reports that some studies found no statistically significant effect on PTSD prevention. But it does not list benzodiazepines among the drugs studied, and it also reports results compatible with lower PTSD occurrence for some agents. The blanket statement, particularly its reference to benzodiazepines, is therefore not supported. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEight systematic reviews evaluated pharmacological interventions on the development of diagnosis of PTSD following injury.
“Eight systematic reviews evaluated pharmacological interventions on the development of (diagnosis) of PTSD following injury (online supplemental table 1).3340”
From Impact of healthcare interventions on distress following acute musculoskeletal/orthopaedic injury: A scoping review of systematic reviews (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
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- Authors
- LINARES, I. M. P., CORCHS, F. D. F., CHAGAS, M. H. N., ZUARDI, A. W., MARTIN-SANTOS, R., & CRIPPA, J. A. S.
- Affiliations
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (BR)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Universidade Federal de São Carlos (BR)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo)
- Publisher
- FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
- Published
- 2017-02
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 23-29
- ISSN
- 0101-6083 (ISSN-L)
- 1806-938X
- OpenAlex
- W2597074121
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 0.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- The Scientific Electronic Library Online (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (26/2014, 466805/2014‐4, 2014-4)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Traumatic Brain Injury Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD prevention, secondary prevention, early intervention, traumatic events, pharmacological interventions, psychological intervention, adults
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