Stellate Ganglion Block in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Status:
Not yet recruiting
Trial end date:
2023-09-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The most common treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is trauma-focused therapy
and/or prescription of medication(s). However, these treatments may not directly reduce
symptoms associated with PTSD, making it difficult for patients to be treated for this
condition and recover. Stellate ganglion block (SGB) is a medical procedure that involves
injection of a local anesthetic (a medication that causes reduced sensation/feeling in a
given area) around the stellate ganglion, which is a collection of nerves near the base of
the neck. This procedure causes a short-lived, temporary shutdown of nerve signals (up to 5-7
hours) and is commonly performed in Canada for certain pain and medical conditions. In the
last decade, several studies, including those involving members of military groups, have
shown that SGB can result in a rapid and sustained drop in symptoms related to PTSD such as
overwhelming anxiety, increased irritability, heightened alertness, and exaggerated startle.
Considering these results and the known safety of this procedure (as demonstrated by previous
research and use in other illnesses), SGB has been increasingly used to treat PTSD among
veterans in the United States but has not yet been evaluated in Canada. More research is
thereby needed to use SBG as a method of PTSD treatment in Canada, and to better understand
how it works to reduce symptoms associated with this condition. Health Canada, the
organization which oversees clinical trials such as this one, has not approved the use of the
SGB procedure for PTSD in the general population, however Health Canada has allowed the use
of SGB in this study to better understand how it works and how it may be used in the future
to treat PTSD-related symptoms in those who feel that common treatments are not effective.