Results From a 24 Week, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of EMDR Combined With Venlafaxine XR in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Approximately 150 active duty service members meeting DSM-5 criteria for PTSD and scoring 50 or above on the Clinician Administered PTSD Score for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) will be recruited for a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial. Participants will be recruited via referral from other providers or self-referral from recruitment fliers. CAPS-5 is considered the gold-standard for PTSD symptom assessment in research. An initial PHQ-9,PCL-5, urine drug screen, and pregnancy test will be obtained at that visit as well. Qualifying participants will then meet with a prescriber, review informed consent, draw a number for randomization, and complete the SCID-5. The participant will then meet with the pharmacist who will dispense either venlafaxine XR or placebo. Randomization will have occurred before any participants have been recruited. Randomization will consist of use of a random number generator to generate 150 numbers. The pharmacist will secretly assign half of the numbers to treatment and half to control. Numbers generated will be written on slips of paper and placed in opaque envelopes then placed in a box. Participants will then draw their own numbers and inform the researchers of the number drawn. The titration schedule for the venlafaxine XR/placebo will be 3 days at 37.5mg, 7 days at 75mg, then increasing to 150mg. The participant will meet with the prescriber after 4 weeks at 150mg to determine if an increase to 225mg is warranted based on the participants DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. Meetings with a prescriber will then occur monthly throughout the study unless side effects or other concerns require more frequent follow up. Prescriber visits will be scheduled for 30 minutes, however, visits could be completed in as little as five minutes if the medication is working well with no side effects, blood pressure remains at baseline, the participant remains adherent to both medication and therapy, and the participant raises no concerns. Participants will meet with the pharmacist on a monthly basis for pill counts. EMDR sessions will occur weekly if possible and not any less than once every 2 weeks. Two sessions are allowed in 1 week if the participant anticipates going to the field or otherwise being unavailable for regular visits. All EMDR sessions will be recorded using a camcorder and the principal investigator will review 10% of all therapy sessions (a minimum of 1 session per participant) using a fidelity checklist. CAPS-5 assessments will be completed by an individual not involved in a participant's direct treatment and will be administered after completion of EMDR and again at 6 months from the date of his/her first therapy session. A urine drug screen will be ordered with each CAPS-5. Missing data/participant drop out will be handled using last object carried forward. Comparisons between interventions will be computed using a student's T-test for single comparisons between groups or ANOVA when multiple comparisons/time points are involved. If at any point a participant requests a record of treatment, a summary of care will be provided.