Another study estimated 3%–6% ( 6), which is more consistent with adult studies. Some studies reported a prevalence around 0.11% of children aged 7 to 9 ( 4) and 0.5% of children aged 9 to 16 ( 5). The prevalence of pediatric PTSD fluctuates depending on the population studied. Many factors impact the clinical features, such as age, gender, type of trauma, and possibility of a protective support ( 3). Adolescents may deal with intrusive symptoms through body image preoccupations, injuries, and risky behaviors ( 2). Children may re-enact traumatic or rescue scenes rather than describe flashbacks.

Additionally, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, negative alterations of cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity are required to meet criteria of PTSD ( 1).

Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) persistently re-experience events with intrusive symptoms, such as intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks. No adverse effects were reported except for one patient (hypotension).Ĭonclusion: Consistent with prior case reports and retrospective reviews, our retrospective analysis of data prospectively and systematically assessed among 18 patients suggests that prazosin is well-tolerated and associated with improvement in symptoms for pediatric PTSD. The improvement was significant irrespective of trauma exposure or sex. The mean total UCLA-PTSD-RI score significantly decreased 11.4 points ( ± 5.4) during the first week and 37.9 ( ± 16) during the first month, leading to an improvement of 20% and 67%, respectively. After 1 month of treatment with a mean prazosin dose of 2.16 ( ± 0.6) mg/day, the CGI-S score significantly decreased from 5.3 ( ± 0.9) to 2.9 ( ± 0.7) (improvement of 43%). Results: Among the 18 patients (10 girls and 8 boys), 13 (72%) had experienced sexual abuse and 5 (28%) family violence. This treatment protocol and the evaluation of clinical data were approved by our Ethical committee for research on preexisting data at the University Teaching Hospital of Rouen. PTSD symptoms and adverse effects were collected weekly and prospectively assessed each month with validated clinical scales. Methods: Since 2016, 18 patients with PSTD under the age of 15 admitted in a child and adolescent psychiatric unit were challenged with prazosin as part of a treatment protocol. This study prospectively assessed the safety and effects of Prazosin on PTSD symptoms in a pediatric sample. Prazosin, an alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist, has been studied and demonstrated to be efficacious in an adult population for PTSD related sleep disturbances however, in the pediatric population, data is limited to case reports and retrospective case series.

Objectives: Few studies have investigated pharmacologic treatment for pediatric post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

7Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.

6INSERM U1105 Research Group for Analysis of the Multimodal Cerebral Function, University of Picardie–Jules Verne (UPJV), Amiens, France.

5Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

4Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services, Amiens University Hospital, Picardie Jules Verne University, Amiens, France.

3Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

2Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Department, CHU Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France.

1Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, URHEA, CHSR Sotteville les Rouen, Rouen, France.

Vladimir Ferrafiat 1,2* Maryam Soleimani 1,2 Boris Chaumette 3 Audrey Martinez 2 Jean-Marc Guilé 4,5,6 Brooks Keeshin 7 Priscille Gerardin 1,2

Dsm 5 criteria for pediatric ptsd