19 clinical trials assessing psychological and pharmacological interventions to prevent PTSD in adults were systematically reviewed. The analysis, conducted by RTI International and led by Gerald Gartlehner, synthesized evidence from multiple databases covering literature from 1980 to July 2012. It found reliable evidence lacking for most interventions, with brief trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy showing the most promise.
Use Cases
- Compare intervention efficacy for PTSD prevention based on the systematic review's strength-of-evidence grading.
- Analyze outcomes of trauma-focused CBT versus supportive counseling based on the meta-analysis results.
- Investigate the role of collaborative care for hospitalized injury patients based on reported symptom severity reductions.
- Assess the evidence base for emerging interventions like yoga or dietary supplements based on the reported lack of eligible studies.
Strengths
- Systematic review of 19 trials with independent data selection and extraction by two investigators.
- Evidence graded using established strength-of-evidence (SOE) guidance, providing a structured quality assessment.
- Quantitative meta-analyses were conducted using random-effects models where data were sufficient.
Limitations
- Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Last update date is unknown; the evidence review covers literature only up to July 2012.
- Evidence was insufficient to determine effects of timing, dosing, or comparative harms for many interventions.
Provenance
- Source
- RTI International
- Collection Method
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of trials from PubMed®, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, PILOTS, and other databases.
- Time Range
- Literature from January 1, 1980, to July 30, 2012.
- Freshness
- Last updated is unknown; the literature search covered up to July 2012.
- Geography
- null