Citation

Stein MB, Kerridge C, Dimsdale JE, Hoyt DB. J. Trauma. Stress 2007; 20(6): 923-932.

Affiliation

Departments of Psychiatry, and Family & Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.20270

PMID

18157888

Abstract

Acute physical injury is frequently associated with mental health sequelae, which then accentuate disability and worsen functional outcomes. A pharmacological prevention approach to this problem has been proposed. This proof-of-concept study was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial of 14 days of the beta-blocker propranolol (n = 17), the anxiolytic anticonvulsant gabapentin (n = 14), or placebo (n = 17), administered within 48 hours of injury to patients admitted to a surgical trauma center. Of 569 accessible, potentially eligible subjects, 48 (8%) participated. Outcomes assessments were conducted at 1, 4, and 8 months postinjury. Although well tolerated, neither study drug showed a significant benefit over placebo on depressive or posttraumatic stress symptoms. Implications are discussed for future pharmacological prevention studies in survivors of acute traumatic injury.

Language: en