Comparative Effectiveness Research in Veterans With PTSD (CERV-PTSD)

CSP #591 - CERV-PTSD: Comparative Effectiveness Research in Veterans With PTSD

VA Cooperative Study CSP #591 is designed to compare the effectiveness of two types of psychotherapy, Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), for treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in male and female Veterans. Despite solid evidence that both treatments are effective in Veterans and non-Veterans, there is a lack of evidence about the effectiveness of these treatments compared with one another.

The sample will include 900 male and female Veterans with PTSD due to any traumatic military event. Veterans who are eligible and agree to participate in the study will be randomly assigned (by chance) to receive Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Processing Therapy. The standard "dose" of treatment is 12 weekly sessions but Veterans who improve more rapidly may finish in fewer sessions and Veterans who improve more slowly may have additional sessions. The primary outcome is improvement in PTSD symptoms after treatment. The outcome will be measured at regular follow-up visits that will occur at the middle and at the end of treatment and then 3 and 6 months later. The investigators will measure other outcomes, including additional mental health problems, functioning, quality of life, and use of treatments for mental and physical problems. The investigators also will measure Veterans' treatment preference and examine whether Veterans who get the treatment they prefer do better than Veterans who get the less-preferred treatment.

As a large multi-site trial with men and women, CSP #591 is designed to provide conclusive information about whether one treatment is better than the other, overall and for different types of patients-for example, men vs. women, combat Veterans vs. Veterans who experienced military sexual trauma, and older vs. younger Veterans. Regardless of the outcome, patients will have more information to help them make an informed decisions about which treatment to choose and VA will have stronger evidence to help make care Veteran-centered.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT); Behavioral: Prolonged Exposure (PE)

Detailed Description

VA Cooperative Study CSP #591 is designed to compare the effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in male and female Veterans. PTSD is a serious and prevalent condition in Veterans, affecting just under 9% of VA patients in Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11). Since 2005, the number of VA patients with PTSD has increased 14.8% annually, due not only to new Veterans but also to increased numbers of Vietnam Veterans who are seeking care. In FY11, PTSD was the 3rd most common service-connected disability in VA.

Despite solid evidence that Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy are effective treatments for PTSD in Veterans and non-Veterans, there is insufficient evidence about the effectiveness of these treatments relative to one another. The only study to compare the treatments, a single-site trial in non-Veteran female rape survivors, failed to find a difference, but the study was not adequately powered to compare two such effective treatments. Other data are similarly inconclusive. CSP #591 would break new ground as the first large-scale comparative effectiveness trial of treatment for PTSD and the first study to provide definitive information about how effective treatments for PTSD compare with one another.

The study will be a prospective randomized clinical trial with blinded assessment. The population will be male and female Veterans with PTSD due to any traumatic military event. Patients who are eligible and agree to participate in the study will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Processing Therapy. The investigators propose to administer 12 weekly sessions of each treatment as a standard "dose" but to allow participants who improve more rapidly to finish in 10 or 11 sessions and participants who have not attained adequate improvement by session 12 to have up to 2 additional sessions.

The primary outcome is improvement in PTSD symptom severity as measured by change on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale after treatment. The outcome measure will be determined from regular follow-up visits of the patients, which will occur at the middle and at the end of treatment and then 3 and 6 months later. Secondary outcomes include other measures of PTSD, comorbid mental health problems, functioning, quality of life, and service utilization. The investigators also will measure participants' treatment preference and examine whether concordance between preference and allocation is associated with increased treatment effectiveness.

In order to detect a standardized mean difference in improvement in PTSD symptom severity of d = .25, a sample size of 900 randomized patients provides 90% power to detect a difference between arms using the linear mixed effects model with a two-sided = .05. Given the lack of conclusive findings to predict which treatment is better, the investigators propose to test a nondirectional hypothesis. Assuming 2.5 years of accrual and an enrollment of 26 participants per year at each site, the investigators would need 14.1 sites to enroll a total of 64 participants per site. The investigators propose to recruit 17 sites to guard against the possibility that some sites will not enroll the required number of participants.

VA has a vested interest in understanding the relative effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy. Both treatments are recommended at the highest level in the Veterans Affairs (VA)/Department of Defense (DoD) PTSD Practice Guideline. VA is required to make these treatments available to Veterans seeking PTSD care. The treatments are being disseminated nationally across the VA system in order to enhance the availability of evidence-based treatments to Veterans with PTSD. VA also has developed a national PTSD Mentoring Program for PTSD Program Administrators to help them manage their clinics to permit the delivery of these treatments. Every facility has an evidence-based therapy coordinator as well to facilitate training in evidence-based psychotherapy.

As a large multi-site trial with men and women, CSP #591 would provide definitive information about the comparative effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy and maximize the study's impact on the field. Because the treatments are based on differing theories about the development of PTSD, a demonstration that one treatment is superior to the other would further scientific exploration by challenging theoretical accounts of etiology and treatment. Regardless of which treatment is better, patients would have more information to help them make an informed decision about which treatment to choose and VA would have stronger evidence to help make care Veteran-centered.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 916
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Alabama
    • Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, 35404
      • Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, AL
  • Arizona
    • Phoenix, Arizona, United States, 85012
      • Phoenix VA Health Care System, Phoenix, AZ
  • California
    • Long Beach, California, United States, 90822
      • VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA
    • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304-1290
      • VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
    • San Francisco, California, United States, 94121
      • San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
  • Georgia
    • Decatur, Georgia, United States, 30033
      • Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA
  • Illinois
    • Hines, Illinois, United States, 60141-5000
      • Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL
  • Louisiana
    • New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, 70112
      • Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, New Orleans, LA
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55417
      • Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN
  • New Mexico
    • Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, 87108-5153
      • New Mexico VA Health Care System, Albuquerque, NM
  • North Carolina
    • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27705
      • Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45220
      • Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
    • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44106
      • Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
  • Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84148
      • VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT
  • Vermont
    • White River Junction, Vermont, United States, 05009-0001
      • White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, VT
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98108
      • VA Puget Sound Health Care System Seattle Division, Seattle, WA
  • Wisconsin
    • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53705
      • William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Current PTSD and symptom severity of 25 or higher on the Clinician- Administered PTSD Scale (Weathers et al., 2013); agreement to not receive psychotherapy for PTSD during study treatment and allow digital recording of phone interviews and therapy; regular access to a telephone (or agreement to come to the VA for centrally conducted telephone interviews for participant who do not have telephone access). Medication for PTSD and other mental or physical conditions, psychotherapy for other problems, brief visits with an existing therapist, and self-help groups will be allowed.

Exclusion Criteria:

• substance dependence not in remission for at least 1 month;
• current psychotic symptoms and mania (including manic phase of bipolar disorder);
• significant current suicidal or homicidal ideation that includes a specific plan;
• or moderate to severe cognitive impairment defined as 1 SD below age-graded norms on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: CPT; Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) - a type of cognitive therapy for treating PTSD.	Behavioral: Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT); CPT consists of cognitive therapy and a written trauma narrative. Patients are taught to challenge their beliefs through Socratic questioning and the use of daily worksheets. The initial focus is on beliefs such as denial and self-blame, and then shifts to overgeneralized beliefs about self and the world. Patients process their trauma directly by writing a narrative of their traumatic event(s) that they read to themselves and to therapists. The typical protocol consists of 12 1-hr sessions. In this study, the 12-session protocol will be followed, but participants who improve more rapidly may finish in 10 sessions and those who improve more slowly may receive up to 2 additional sessions to continue working on stuck points with challenging beliefs worksheets.
Active Comparator: PE; Prolonged Exposure (PE) - a type of exposure therapy for treating PTSD.	Behavioral: Prolonged Exposure (PE); PE is a manualized, 90-minute, 8-15 week treatment program based on emotional processing theory, which posits that anxiety disorders, including PTSD, reflect pathological fear structures in which emotional and cognitive associations among different elements do not accurately represent reality and renders the individual dysfunctional and distressed. PE is designed to correct erroneous connections in the targeted memory structure. PTSD sufferers typically experience two key pathological emotional response sets and related cognitions: "The world is an utterly dangerous place," and "I am completely incompetent and unable to cope with stress." In this study, the 12-session protocol will be followed, but participants improve more rapidly may finish in 10 sessions and those who improve more slowly may have up to 2 additional sessions to continue working on exposure.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in PTSD Symptom Severity on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS)	The primary outcome is the change of CAPS-5 total score from baseline (pre-treatment) to the average in the six months post-treatment (measured at immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow-up visits). We chose to use the average in the six months post-treatment in the definition of primary outcome (versus using a single post-treatment timepoint) because we anticipate that improvement established during the course of treatment will be sustained in the 6 months after treatment for both PE and CPT. Possible range for CAPS-5 total score 0-80. Higher score indicates more severe PTSD.	immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS-5)	The PDS-5 is a 24-item self-report measure that assesses PTSD symptom severity in the last month according to DSM-5 criteria. The outcome is the change of PDS-5 total score from baseline (pre-treatment) to the average in the six months post-treatment (measured at immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow-up visits). Possible range for PDS-5 score 0-80. Higher PDS-5 Score indicates more severe PTSD Symptoms.	immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months
Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)	BDI-II is a brief, self-report inventory designed to measure the severity of depression symptomatology. The outcome is the change of BDI-II total score from baseline (pre-treatment) to the average in the six months post-treatment (measured at immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow-up visits). Possible range for BDI-II 0-63. Higher score indicates more severe depressive symptoms (0-13 minimal, 14-29 mild, 20-28 moderate, 29-63 severe).	immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months
Spielberger State Anger Inventory (STAXI)	The STAXI is a commonly used measure of trait and state anxiety. The outcome is the change of STAI total score from baseline (pre-treatment) to the average in the six months post-treatment (measured at immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow-up visits). Possible range for STAXI 44-176. Higher score indicates greater intensity of anger.	immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months
Short Inventory of Problems - Revised (SIP-R)	The SIP-R assesses alcohol-related consequences. The outcome is the change of SIP-R total score from baseline (pre-treatment) to the average in the six months post-treatment (measured at immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow-up visits). Possible range for SIP-R 0-51. Higher score indicates more severe adverse consequences of substance use.	immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months
Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM)	The BAM measures an individual's health, alcohol, and drug use. The outcome is the change of BAM total score from baseline (pre-treatment) to the average in the six months post-treatment (measured at immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow-up visits). Range: 0-4 points. Higher score indicates worse outcome (i.e., more severe addiction).	immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months
World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO-DAS-II)	The WHO-DAS-II is an assessment instrument for health and disability. The outcome is the change of WHO-DAS-II total score from baseline (pre-treatment) to the average in the six months post-treatment (measured at immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow-up visits). Possible range for WHODAS-II 12-60. Higher score indicates more difficulty and disability due to health condition.	immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months
World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL-BREF)	The WHOQoL-BREF is a quality of life assessment. The outcome is the change of WHOQoL-BREF assessment sub-category (Physical Health, Psychological, Social Relationships, Environment) scores from baseline (pre-treatment) to the average in the six months post-treatment (measured at immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow-up visits). Possible range for WHOQOL-BREF 0-100, Physical Health 0-100, Psychological 0-100, Social Relationships 0-100, and Environment 0-100. Higher score indicates better satisfaction with life.	immediate post-treatment, 3 and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
• Investigators: Study Chair: Paula P Schnurr, PhD, White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, VT; Study Chair: Josef I Ruzek, PhD, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA; Study Chair: Kathleen M Chard, PhD, Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Schnurr PP, Chard KM, Ruzek JI, Chow BK, Shih MC, Resick PA, Foa EB, Marx BP, Huang GD, Lu Y. Corrigendum to "Design of VA Cooperative Study #591: CERV-PTSD, Comparative Effectiveness Research in Veterans with PTSD" [Contemp. Clin. Trials 41 (2015) 75-84]. Contemp Clin Trials. 2019 May;80:61. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2019.04.003. Epub 2019 Apr 5. No abstract available.
• Schnurr PP, Chard KM, Ruzek JI, Chow BK, Shih MC, Resick PA, Foa EB, Marx BP, Huang GD, Lu Y. Design of VA Cooperative Study #591: CERV-PTSD, comparative effectiveness research in veterans with PTSD. Contemp Clin Trials. 2015 Mar;41:75-84. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2014.11.017. Epub 2014 Nov 29. Erratum In: Contemp Clin Trials. 2019 May;80:61.
• Schnurr PP, Chard KM, Ruzek JI, Chow BK, Resick PA, Foa EB, Marx BP, Friedman MJ, Bovin MJ, Caudle KL, Castillo D, Curry KT, Hollifield M, Huang GD, Chee CL, Astin MC, Dickstein B, Renner K, Clancy CP, Collie C, Maieritsch K, Bailey S, Thompson K, Messina M, Franklin L, Lindley S, Kattar K, Luedtke B, Romesser J, McQuaid J, Sylvers P, Varkovitzky R, Davis L, MacVicar D, Shih MC. Comparison of Prolonged Exposure vs Cognitive Processing Therapy for Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among US Veterans: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Jan 4;5(1):e2136921. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.36921.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 31, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 18, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): April 18, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 16, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 21, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): August 27, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 2, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 26, 2022
• Last Verified: January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: 591

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No