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Dealing with Posttraumatic Nightmares

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

C. Alvarez Garcia ,
L. Nocete Navarro  and
A. Sanz Giancola
C. Alvarez Garcia*
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Psychiatry, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
L. Nocete Navarro
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Psychiatry, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
A. Sanz Giancola
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Psychiatry, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Posttraumatic nightmares are one of the most frequent symptoms in posttraumatic stress disorder. Prevalence can be up to 96%. These nightmares evoke the experienced traumatic event, causing a negative impact. Besides, they are and independent risk for suicide. There are different pharmacological and non-pharmacological options for PTN, despite is no optimal treatment.

Objectives

To analyse the different treatment options for PTN.

Methods

This was a narrative literature review.

Results

The two main treatments for PTN nowadays are the Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) and prazosin. IRT is a cognitive-behavioral intervention, that helps the patient to change the content of the nightmare to a “happier ending”. Prazosin is an alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonist that blocks the stress response in the central nervous system receptors. Although it was a promising drug, significant differences compared to placebo have not been found. There is growing data that suggests nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, could be helpful in PTN treatment. A clinical trial made in Canada revealed that 72% of patients experienced a complete disappearance or at least an important reduction of PTN.

Conclusions

PTN is a very common and distressing symptom in patients presenting PTSD. Nevertheless, there is no treatment with enough evidence for this pathology. On this account, it is fundamental to do more research in order to find and suitable treatment that can improve the quality of life of these patients.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

nightmaresposttraumaticTreatmentPTSD
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S674
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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