Martínez Raga José, Didia-Attas Javier, Job Alfredo, Knecht C Carlos, Cepeda Sonsoles, San Luis, Pérez-Gálvez Bartolome
Psiquiatra, Instituto de Drogas y Conductas Adictivas, Universidad Cardenal Herrera, CEU y Agencia Valenciana de Salud, España.
Vertex. 2005 Nov-Dec;16(64):412-7.
There is an increasing interest to find efficacious treatments for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid substance use disorder (SUD). Therefore, in this paper the studies published on the psychological and pharmacological treatment for the management of comorbid PTSD and SUD will be discussed, as these are highly prevalent and shown in part I. The few studies published to date suggest that patients benefit most form an integrated treatment approach for the comorbid disorders. Psychological treatments based on cognitive behavioural strategies appear to be useful for patients with PTSD and comorbid SUD disorder. Medications such as SSRIs and particularly sertraline that efficacious for PTSD, seem to be as well for this dual disorder. In addition, pharmacological options, among them quetiapine or bupropion have shown promising results in preliminary studies.