Long-term course of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in German soldiers: effects of inpatient eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy and specific trauma characteristics in patients with non-combat-related PTSD.

Objective: In this study, we retrospectively evaluated a patient population of 89 German soldiers who received inpatient treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at the German Armed Forces Hospital in Hamburg from 1998 to 2003.

Methods: Patients were nonrandomly assigned to a treatment group who received eye movement desensitization and reprocessing and a comparison group with general hospital treatment and relaxation training. Follow-up information was obtained 29 months post-treatment. Trauma-related symptoms were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale and the Post-Traumatic Stress Scale (PTSS-10) as parameters of improvement.

Results: The Impact of Event Scale showed that inpatient trauma therapy with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing significantly improved the course of post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, the Impact of Event Scale indicated a significantly poorer long-term outcome for patients who had been confronted with death during their traumatic experience. Other factors tested were of no significant influence.

Conclusions: These results may influence further treatment strategies for traumatized German soldiers.