Comparison of the Effectiveness of Sertraline, Transcranial Direct Stimulation Current and their Combination on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans

Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent health problems in the victims of the Iran-Iraq war. Despite many advantages of the administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as the first-line treatment of PTSD, a large number of the patients still need more effective therapies. The purpose of this study was to comparison of the effectiveness of sertraline, transcranial direct stimulation current (TDCS), and the combined treatment (TDCS and sertraline) to relieve the symptoms of PTSD in the veterans in Tehran, Iran.

The current study was a semi-experimental study including pre- and post-tests, a control group, and three-month follow-up. The population of study was veterans who lived in Tehran in 2018. 68 veterans were selected by purposive sampling method and then randomly divided to control and experimental groups. The first group was treated with sertraline, the second group received TDCS, and the third group treated with the combined treatment. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5(PCL-5) was used as a research tool.

All of the treatment approaches were effective in reduction of symptoms in patients with PTSD. In the post-test and follow-up phase, there was a significant difference in PCL-5 scores between sertraline, TDCS, and combined treatment in comparison with the control group. Combined treatment (TDCS and sertraline) have shown a significantly higher and persistence effectiveness.

Combined treatment with TDCS and sertraline can be used as an efficient and effective approach to reduce PTSD symptoms in veterans.