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Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Dependence

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is predominant amongst individuals addicted to opioids and obscures the course of illness and the treatment outcome. We report the case of a patient with major depressive disorder and opioid dependence, who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms dur...

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Autores principales: Patel, Rikinkumar S, Elmaadawi, Ahmed, Nasr, Suhayl, Haskin, John
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5669522/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29142795
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1647
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author Patel, Rikinkumar S
Elmaadawi, Ahmed
Nasr, Suhayl
Haskin, John
author_facet Patel, Rikinkumar S
Elmaadawi, Ahmed
Nasr, Suhayl
Haskin, John
author_sort Patel, Rikinkumar S
collection PubMed
description Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is predominant amongst individuals addicted to opioids and obscures the course of illness and the treatment outcome. We report the case of a patient with major depressive disorder and opioid dependence, who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms during a recent visit to the inpatient unit. The similarity of symptoms between post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid dependence is so high that, sometimes, it is a challenge to differentiate between these conditions. Since opioid withdrawal symptoms mimic hyper vigilance, this results in an exaggeration of the response of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. This comorbidity is associated with worse health outcomes, as its pathophysiology involves a common neurobiological circuit. Opioid substitution therapy and psychotherapeutic medications in combination with evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy devised for individuals with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid dependence may improve treatment outcomes in this population. Therefore, we conclude that the screening for post-traumatic stress disorder in the opioid-abusing population is crucial. To understand the underlying mechanisms for this comorbidity and to improve the treatment response, further research should be encouraged.
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spelling pubmed-56695222017-11-15 Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Dependence Patel, Rikinkumar S Elmaadawi, Ahmed Nasr, Suhayl Haskin, John Cureus Public Health Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is predominant amongst individuals addicted to opioids and obscures the course of illness and the treatment outcome. We report the case of a patient with major depressive disorder and opioid dependence, who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms during a recent visit to the inpatient unit. The similarity of symptoms between post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid dependence is so high that, sometimes, it is a challenge to differentiate between these conditions. Since opioid withdrawal symptoms mimic hyper vigilance, this results in an exaggeration of the response of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. This comorbidity is associated with worse health outcomes, as its pathophysiology involves a common neurobiological circuit. Opioid substitution therapy and psychotherapeutic medications in combination with evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy devised for individuals with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid dependence may improve treatment outcomes in this population. Therefore, we conclude that the screening for post-traumatic stress disorder in the opioid-abusing population is crucial. To understand the underlying mechanisms for this comorbidity and to improve the treatment response, further research should be encouraged. Cureus 2017-09-03 /pmc/articles/PMC5669522/ /pubmed/29142795 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1647 Text en Copyright © 2017, Patel et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Public Health
Patel, Rikinkumar S
Elmaadawi, Ahmed
Nasr, Suhayl
Haskin, John
Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Dependence
title Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Dependence
title_full Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Dependence
title_fullStr Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Dependence
title_full_unstemmed Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Dependence
title_short Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Dependence
title_sort comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid dependence
topic Public Health
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5669522/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29142795
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1647
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