Long-term course of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in German soldiers: Effects of in patient eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy and specific trauma characteristics in patients with non-combat-related PTSD

Objective: In this study, we retrospectively evaluated a patient population of 89 German soldiers who received inpatient treatment for PTSD at the German Armed Forces Hospital in Hamburg from 1998 to 2003. Methods: Patients were nonrandomly assigned to a treatment group who received eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and a comparison group with general hospital treatment and relaxation training. Follow-up information was obtained 29 months post-treatment. Trauma-related symptoms were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale and the Post-Traumatic Stress Scale (PTSS-10) as parameters of improvement. Results: The Impact of Event Scale showed that inpatient trauma therapy with EMDR significantly improved the course of PTSD. In addition, the Impact of Event Scale indicated a significantly poorer long-term outcome for patients who had been confronted with death during their traumatic experience. Other factors tested were of no significant influence. CONCLUSIONS: These results may influence further treatment strategies for traumatized German soldiers.

Journal

English

Peter Zimmermann
Karl Heinz Biesold
Klaus Barre
Mario Lanczik

Zimmermann, P., Biesold, K. H., Barre, K., & Lanczik, M. (2007, May). Long-term course of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in German soldiers: Effects of in patient eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy and specific trauma characteristics in patients with non-combat-related PTSD. Military Medicine, 172(5), 456-460