Guanfacine as an Adjunct Treatment for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Report.

IF 0.8 Q4 PSYCHIATRY
Lap Kei Cheung
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (Complex PTSD) in pediatric patients is challenging to manage, particularly when conventional therapeutic approaches are insufficient. We report the case of Miss A, a 15-year-old girl with a history of severe neglect and abuse, adopted at age 5, who presented with frequent reliving of trauma memories, significant emotional dysregulation, dissociative episodes, recurrent self-harm, and aggression. Her treatment was complicated by comorbid mild-grade learning disability and suspected autism spectrum disorder. Initial management with promethazine, melatonin, and lorazepam, and later aripiprazole and fluoxetine provided limited relief. Following hospital readmission, guanfacine, an alpha-2 adrenergic agonist, was initiated. Miss A demonstrated a marked reduction in emotional dysregulation, self-harm, aggression, and suicidal thoughts, suggesting that guanfacine may offer significant benefits for managing Complex PTSD in such cases. This case underscores the difficulties in treating Complex PTSD with comorbid conditions, and highlights guanfacine as a potential adjunct therapy. However, further research is required to validate its efficacy and safety.

胍法辛辅助治疗复杂创伤后应激障碍1例。
儿科患者的复杂创伤后应激障碍(复杂PTSD)是具有挑战性的,特别是当传统治疗方法不足时。我们报告A小姐的病例,她是一名15岁的女孩,有严重的忽视和虐待史,在5岁时被收养,她表现出频繁的创伤记忆,严重的情绪失调,分离性发作,反复的自我伤害和攻击性。她的治疗是复杂的共病轻度学习障碍和疑似自闭症谱系障碍。最初用异丙嗪、褪黑素和劳拉西泮治疗,后来用阿立哌唑和氟西汀治疗效果有限。再次入院后,开始使用胍法辛,一种α -2肾上腺素能激动剂。A小姐表现出情绪失调、自残、攻击和自杀想法的显著减少,这表明胍法辛可能对此类病例的复杂创伤后应激障碍的治疗有显著的益处。本病例强调了治疗伴有合并症的复杂PTSD的困难,并强调了胍法辛作为一种潜在的辅助治疗方法。然而,需要进一步的研究来验证其有效性和安全性。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
2.90
自引率
5.00%
发文量
20
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