The Stellate Ganglion Block for PTSD: A Retrospective Clinical Case Series

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Extant data suggest that the Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) is effective for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Clinical data from a large healthcare system are lacking. We report data from a clinical project in the Veterans Health Administration. METHODS: Retrospective data of PTSD and anxiety for 579 patients who received one or more SGBs were analyzed on the full sample and on those who had complete data using general linear models. RESULTS: Receiving the first SGB provided a 36% and 30% reduction in PTSD symptom scores at 1-week and 1-month post-SGB, respectively. Those who received 2-4+ SGBs showed lower pre-SGB PTSD symptom scores and trends for lower scores at 1-week and 1-month post-SGB. Overall, 78% and 71% of patients had a reliable (Δ ≥ -5 points) change and 68% and 60% had a clinically meaningful (Δ ≥ -10 points) change in PTSD symptom scores from pre-SGB to 1-week and 1-month post-SGB, respectively. There were clinically meaningful reductions for anxiety in 51.5% and 48.3% at 1-week and 1-month post-SGB, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These data corroborate existing data about the benefit of SGB for PTSD and anxiety and are unique in showing an association between repeat SGBs and lower PTSD symptoms at subsequent baseline.