Inpatient residential treatment program for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Results from the 2020 Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) War

ABSTRACT

Inpatient residential treatment programs to evaluate active military service members for potential return to service or discharge are considered an integral component of rehabilitation for trauma related conditions. This retrospective study was conducted on combat-exposed military service members who were admitted to an inpatient residential treatment program for evaluation of fitness to serve and treatment of trauma related conditions. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) was used to screen for PTSD, determine symptom severity, and monitor symptom change. At the time of admission, 54.3% of the service members met the provisional PTSD diagnosis, whereas at the time of discharge, 16.28% of the service members met the provisional diagnostic criteria. The most common symptoms rated moderately or higher were sleep troubles, followed by super alert, disturbing memories, feeling upset, disturbing dreams, physical reactions, avoiding memories, and negative feelings. Paired t-test results comparing the PCL-5 five Subscales and Total Score at the time of admission and discharge showed significant reductions. The five symptoms that improved the least were sleep troubles, feeling upset, avoiding memories, difficulty concentrating, and trouble remembering. The successful creation and implementation of an Armenian version of the PCL-5 was realized and, when put to the test, aided in screening, diagnosing, and monitoring PTSD symptoms among Armenian Army Service members. The results suggest that PTSD symptoms in an inpatient residential treatment program decreased over time. The symptoms that bothered the service members at most during the time of admission, however, improved the least at the time of discharge.

KEYWORDS:

• PTSD Checklist for DSM-5
• PCL-5
• inpatient
• Artsakh
• Nagorno-Karabakh

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the members of the Intensive Treatment Program (ITP), especially Dr. Tigran Tunyan, Program Director, and Dr. Karen Grigoryan, Head Psychiatrist. Liana Terzyan’s stipend for her doctoral dissertation is supported by the Arthur Pogosyan Mental Health Award, Armenian Healthcare Association of the Bay Area (AHABA), and Armenian Mental Health Professionals United.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Arthur Pogosyan Mental Health Award, Armenian Healthcare Association of the Bay Area (AHABA), and Armenian Mental Health Professionals.