• Robert Mclay, Susan Fesperman, Jennifer Webb-Murphy, Eileen Delaney, Vasudha Ram, Bonnie Nebeker, and Cleo Mae Burce.
• Naval Center for Combat & Operational Stress Control, San Diego, CA 92134, USA.
• Mil Med. 2023 May 16; 188 (5-6): e1117e1124e1117-e1124.

IntroductionDespite a wide literature describing the impact of PTSD on military personnel, there is limited information concerning the results of PTSD treatment within military clinics mental health. Having such information is essential for making predictions about service members' chances of recovery, choosing best treatments, and for understanding if new interventions improve upon the standard of care.Materials And MethodsWe reviewed data from the Psychological Health Pathways (PHP) database. Psychological Health Pathways is a standardized battery of demographics and psychometric outcome measures, including measurement of PTSD symptom severity, that is collected in military mental health clinics. We examined changes in PTSD symptom severity scores over time and developed logistic regression models to predict who responded to treatment, showed clinical success, or improved to the point that they could likely stay in the military.ResultsAfter about 10 weeks in mental health clinics, severity scores for PTSD, sleep, depression, resilience, and disability all improved significantly. Of 681 patients tracked, 38% had clinically significant reductions on the PTSD Checklist (PCL) (i.e., "treatment response"), 28% no longer met criteria for PTSD on the PCL, and 23% did both (i.e., "clinical treatment success"). For the ultimate end point of "military treatment success," defined as meeting criteria for both clinical treatment success and reporting that their work-related disability was mild or better, 12.8% of patients succeeded. Depression scores were the most powerful predictor of treatment failure.ConclusionsRecovery from PTSD is possible during military service, but it is less likely in individuals with certain negative prognostic factors, most notably severe depression.Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2021. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

10 keywords...

hide…