Thesis Paper

Methods

Journal article collection for this systematic review consisted of comprehensive and cited

reference searchers, and was conducted January 5th through January 26th, 2017 utilizing two

primary online databases provided by National University Library Services (NULS): National

University Smart Search (NUSS) and EBSCO Host. After selection of a journal article for

review, the researcher was redirected to secondary databases for retrieval of the article.

Secondary databases included Academic One File, Academic Search Premier, Elsevier, Oxford

Journals, ProQuest Central, PubMed Central, and Science Direct, all of which were provided via

NULS. Google Scholar's database was utilized for journal retrieval by title if it was located in

the primary database but not provided for reading in one of the aforementioned secondary

databases provided by NULS. Inter-library request for journal articles by title located in the

above mentioned primary databases, but not available for reading in the above secondary

databases or Google Scholar were requested through and provided by NULS in a timely matter.

A comprehensive search was conducted with NUSS and EBSCO Host, using the Boolean

term, 'AND'. It included all possible combinations of the following key terms and keywords:

'PTSD pharmacological prevention', 'case studies', 'trials', 'somatic', 'primary', 'secondary', 'pre-

trauma', 'pre-symptomatic', 'preclinical', 'clinical', 'observational', 'retrospective', 'rodent', 'mouse',

and 'rat'. The publication date range was from 2004 to 2016.

Cited references found and used within journal articles presented in this systematic

review were located via the aforementioned primary databases and then obtained for further

review either through the above secondary databases, Google Scholar, or Inter-library request.

Inter-library requests were fulfilled by NULS in a timely manner. Cited references will be

presented in the Results section of this systematic review. The publication date range was from

2004 to 2016.

Inclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria for all searches consists of articles that pertained to hypothesized

somatic pharmacologic PTSD preventions and included themes pertinent to this review: somatic,

primary prevention, secondary prevention, pre-trauma prevention, pre-symptomatic prevention,

preclinical case studies, clinical case studies, observational case studies, retrospective case

studies, rodent trials, mouse trials, and rat trials. The date range was 2004-2016 to obtain articles

that were up-to-date and to narrow search results.

Exclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria for articles that did not fit the main theme included: case studies or

reviews where selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were the primary focus,

pharmaceuticals did not meet the FDA standards of good laboratory practices or equivalent in the

country of study origin, and written in a language other than English.

Assumptions

It is assumed that all studies and resources contained within this review are accurate and

ethical. Articles used in the review were peer reviewed and obtained through NULS. Resources

provided by organizations or state and government agencies are considered to be subject matter

experts in the field of PTSD.

Limitations

Since the paper is a systematic review on building a case for efficacy of somatic

pharmacologic PTSD interventions, the use of articles reflecting positive or neutral results were

selected; therefore, selection bias should be considered as a limitation. Other limitations include:

space constraints, timeliness of the systematic review, and no use of primary databases by the

researcher other than those provided by NULS, i.e.: NUSS & EBSCO Host.