Clinical considerations at each stage of evaluation and treatment of trauma survivors and PTSD

When employing a pharmacologic treatment algorithm for the treatment of PTSD, it is important to continuously assess a range of different factors that may influence response to interventions and to tailor the management plan accordingly. Fortunately, there is a significant body of data to suggest that antidepressants, a first-line treatment choice in PTSD, also are useful for comorbid disorders, in particular depression. However, an important reason for developing treatment algorithms is to pinpoint important gaps in the literature, and there are several unknowns in formulating an approach to PTSD patients with different kinds of presentation and comorbidity. Effectiveness trials in "real-life" settings may eventually be useful in addressing some of these. In the interim, algorithms will need to be applied with substantial clinical judgment.