AUTHOR=Richardson Christie , Yuh Jonathan , Su Jing , Forsberg Martin TITLE=Case series: Continued remission of PTSD symptoms after discontinuation of prazosin JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1172754 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1172754 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating chronic illness that affects 6 out of 100 adults after a severe trauma. The alpha-adrenergic antagonist prazosin, which is prescribed off-label for flashbacks and nightmares due to trauma, is often continued indefinitely due to reports of symptoms returning upon discontinuation. There is no standard guidance for a trial of discontinuation of prazosin due to intolerance or side effects. In this case series, three patients are started on prazosin leading to remission of trauma-related symptoms, and symptoms continue to remit after treatment for an average of about 2 years followed by discontinuation of the medication. There are many similarities in these case reports which serve to provide guidance as to when a trial of prazosin discontinuation may be warranted.