Clinical trial NCT01033136: Exposure Therapy For Veterans With PTSD And Panic Attacks
Official title: Exposure Therapy for Veterans With PTSD and Panic Attacks
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: PTSD
Panic Attacks
Lead sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Sponsor class: FED
First posted: 2009-12-16
Enrollment: 93
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 75
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Intervention model description: Multiple Channel Exposure Therapy is a behavioral treatment that simultaneously targets panic disorder and PTSD.
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of Multiple Channel Exposure Therapy-Veterans (MCET-V) as a treatment for returning service members with comorbid PTSD and panic disorder (PD). This study will examine the effectiveness of MCET-V by comparing it to Cognitive Processing Therapy, a standard PTSD treatment.

Detailed description: With the increasing number of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) Veterans returning from war-zone areas, many will experience anxiety disorders such as PTSD and comorbid problems. Currently, about one in every six OIF/OEF Veterans experiences PTSD and co-occurring PD. Although effective treatments exist for treating one or the other, we do not yet have treatments that can simultaneously target PTSD and PD. Thus, recent attention has focused on the development of multi-component treatments that simultaneously address PTSD and PD. This study is the first systematic investigation of a time-limited, multi-component cognitive-behavioral treatment for Veterans with specific comorbid anxiety problems. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the multi-component cognitive-behavioral treatment in comparison to standard PTSD treatment in military personnel returning from active duty.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* being a Veteran of any era;
* being enrolled in the TRP at the MEDVAMC, with a current diagnosis of PTSD and PD;
* being stable on psychotropic medication for 4 weeks before study participation; and
* being at least 18 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

* active substance dependence, or bipolar or psychotic disorders;
* severe depression and \[active suicidal ideation and intent\] (based on ADIS-IV \& BDI-II);
* cognitive impairment as indicated by the SLUMS; and
* Veterans currently receiving psychosocial treatment specifically targeting PTSD or panic symptoms.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in PTSD Symptoms (CAPS) Between MCET-V and CPT Groups
timeFrame: Baseline, 1-week post-treatment and 3-month follow-up
measure: Change in PDSS Scores Over Time for MCET-V and CPT Groups
timeFrame: Baseline, 1-week post, and 3-month follow-up
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Houston
country: United States
facility: Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
state: Texas
Study officials:
affiliation: Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
name: Ellen Teng, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: