Table 3.
Reported effects on PTSD symptoms
| Study | Number of patients (n) | Withdrawal or dropout | Results | Comments | Directness a | Limitations a | Precision a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EEG neurofeedback | Waiting list or standard treatment | |||||||
| Kelson, 2013 [34] | I: 7 C: 5 |
I: 2 | PTSD symptoms questionnaire Pre: 72.8 (SD 12.6) Post (week 4): 44.2 (SD 9.6) Δ −28.6 |
PTSD symptoms questionnaire Pre: 69.4 (SD 10.0) Post (week 4): 78.8 (SD 9.0) Δ +9.4 Between-group difference in pre-to-post change: Δ −38.0, p < 0.01 |
Twenty-three-item instrument ranging from 23 to 115, lower values indicate fewer symptoms. NB: The PTSD symptoms questionnaire is not a validated instrument. |
− | ? | − |
| Noohi, 2017 [35] | I: 15 C: 15 |
0? | IES-R Pre: 47.2 (SD 7.6) Post (45 days): 30.4 (SD 6.2) Δ −16.8 |
IES-R Pre: 51.1 (SD 5.4) Post (45 days): 51.1 (SD 6.2) Δ 0.0 Between-group difference in pre-to-post change: Δ −16.8, p < 0.001 |
Number of withdrawals unclear. Twenty-two-item instrument, ranging from 0 to 88, lower values indicate fewer symptoms. |
+ | − | ? |
| Peniston, 1991 [25] | I: 15 C: 14 |
0 | MMPI PTSD Pre: 30.6 (SD 9.1) Post (28 days): 10.5 (SD 6.2) Δ −20.1 |
MMPI PTSD Pre: 35.9 (SD 7.2) Post (28 days): 36.2 (SD 5.3) Δ +0.3 Between-group difference in pre-to-post change: Δ −20.4, p < 0.05 |
MMPI PTSD is a scale based on 49 items related to PTSD that are part of a larger number of personality measures. The range of the scale is 0–49, lower values indicate fewer symptoms. NB: numbers for MMPI PTSD measured on a graph (not reported in article) |
? | ? | ? |
| PTSD relapse after 30 months Relapse: 3/15 (20%) |
PTSD relapse after 30 months Relapse: 14/14 (100%) Between-group difference in pre-to-post change: −80%, p < 0.05 |
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| van der Kolk, 2016 [36] | I: 28 C: 24 |
I: 6 C: 2 |
DTS Pre: 67.3 (SD 25.0) Post: 44.2 (SD 19.2) Δ −23.1 (−34.3%) 1 month follow-up: 36.5 (SD 19.3) Δ −30.8 |
DTS Pre: 63.0 (SD 18.2) Post: 58.2 (SD 20.6) Δ −4.8 (−7.6%) Between-group difference in pre-to-post change: Δ −13.4, p < 0.001 1 month follow-up: 65.5 (SD 20.3) Δ +2.5 Between-group difference in pre-to-1 month post change: Δ −33.3, p < 0.001 |
DTS ranges from 0 to 136, lower values indicate fewer symptoms. 95% CIs reported in the paper converted to SD. |
+ | + | + |
| CAPS Pre: 79.5 (SD 16.9) Post: 43.0 (SD 20.2) Δ −36.5 (−45.9%) |
CAPS Pre: 76.2 (SD 16.9) Post: 66.5 (SD 20.6) Δ −9.7 (−12.7%) Between-group difference in pre-to-post change: Δ −26.8, p < 0.001 |
CAPS ranges from 0 to 136, lower values indicate fewer symptoms. A score under 45 is considered as not meeting criteria for PTSD. A 20-point change in CAPS criteria indicates a clinically significant change. 95% CIs reported in the paper converted to SD. |
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| 1 month follow-up: 39.1 (SD 20.0) Δ −40.4 (−50.8%) |
1 month follow-up: 65.5 (SD 20.3) Δ −10.8 (−14.2%) Between-group difference in pre-to-1 month post change: Δ −29.6, p < 0.001 |
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| Remission Remission at week 12 (post-treatment): 16/22 (73%) |
Remission Remission at week 12 (post-treatment): 7/22 (32%) Between-group difference: 41%, p = 0.007 |
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| Remission at week 16: 11/19 (58%) |
Remission at week 16: 2/19 (10%) Between-group difference: 48%, p = 0.002 |
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Abbreviations: C, control; CAPS, Clinician Administered PTSD Scale; DTS, Davidson Trauma Scale; I, intervention; IES-R, Impact of Event Scale-Revised; MMPI, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.
A negative between-group difference in change indicates a difference in favor of neurofeedback.
a
+ indicates no or minor problems; ? indicates some problems; and − indicates major problems.