A NEW Australian Clinical Practice Guideline for the Appropriate Use of methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Published by Monash University's Centre for Medicine Use and Safety and Neuromedicines Discovery Centre, the world's first guideline for the therapy developed using the gold standard approach supports clinicians and people living with PTSD to make informed decisions about MDMA-AP.
Intended for clinicians, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical/allied health professionals involved in the management of PTSD, the guideline addresses clinical uncertainty around what constitutes best practice in a field with heightened risks of misinformation or disinformation among consumers.
For some people, including groups such as veterans - for whom it is subsidised - and first responders, new treatment pathways provide important hope.
"The guideline is based on consideration of benefits and harms, certainty of the evidence, patient values and preferences, resources, equity, acceptability, and feasibility," guideline chair Professor Simon Bell said.
"MDMA-AP is not considered a routine treatment for PTSD.
"If MDMA-AP is used, the guideline recommends it should be limited to adults with PTSD symptoms for at least six months post-diagnosis, with moderate or severe PTSD symptoms in the past month," Professor Bell explained.
"The use of MDMA-AP should also be limited to those who have received an adequate trial of first-line evidence-based treatments, and be at low risk of being re-exposed to the index trauma during treatment," he added.
The guideline is available HERE.
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