The Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder: Synopsis of the 2023 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline.

DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) worked together to revise the 2017 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder. This article summarizes the 2023 clinical practice guideline (CPG) and its development process, focusing on assessments and treatments for which evidence was sufficient to support a recommendation for or against. METHODS: Subject experts from both departments developed 12 key questions and reviewed the published literature after a systematic search using the PICOTS (population, intervention, comparator, outcomes, timing of outcomes measurement, and setting) method. The evidence was then evaluated using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) method. Recommendations were made after consensus was reached; they were based on quality and strength of evidence and informed by other factors, including feasibility and patient perspectives. Once the draft was peer reviewed by an external group of experts and their inputs were incorporated, the final document was completed. RECOMMENDATIONS: The revised CPG includes 34 recommendations in the following 5 topic areas: assessment and diagnosis, prevention, treatment, treatment of nightmares, and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with co-occurring conditions. Six recommendations on PTSD treatment were rated as strong. The CPG recommends use of specific manualized psychotherapies over pharmacotherapy; prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing psychotherapy; paroxetine, sertraline, or venlafaxine; and secure video teleconferencing to deliver recommended psychotherapy when that therapy has been validated for use with video teleconferencing or when other options are unavailable. The CPG also recommends against use of benzodiazepines, cannabis, or cannabis-derived products. Providers are encouraged to use this guideline to support evidence-based, patient-centered care and shared decision making to optimize individuals' health outcomes and quality of life.

The impact of screening positive for hazardous alcohol use on the diagnostic accuracy of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 among veterans.

The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) is a widely used self-report measure of PTSD symptoms that has demonstrated strong psychometric properties across settings and samples. Co-occurring hazardous alcohol use and PTSD are prevalent among veterans, and the effects of alcohol use may impact the performance of the PCL-5. However, this possibility is untested. In this study, we evaluated the PCL-5 diagnostic accuracy for veterans who did and did not screen positive for hazardous alcohol use according to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C). Participants were 385 veterans recruited from Veterans Affairs primary care clinics. Results indicated that PCL-5 performance, AUC = .904, 95% CI [.870, .937], did not differ as a product of hazardous alcohol use. PCL-5 diagnostic utility was comparably high for veterans with, AUC = .904; 95% CI [.846, .962], and without, AUC = .904 95% CI [.861, .946], positive AUDIT-C screens. Although optimally efficient cutoff scores for veterans who screened positive were higher (i.e., 34-36) than for those with negative screens (i.e., 30), neither were significantly different from the overall PCL-5 cutoff score (i.e., 32), suggesting that neither veterans with nor without positive AUDIT-C screens require differential PCL-5 cutoff scores. The results do underscore the importance of using PCL-5 cutoff scores in concert with clinical judgment when establishing a provisional PTSD diagnosis and highlight the need for additional study of the impact of comorbidities on PCL-5 diagnostic accuracy and cutoff scores.

The PTSD Criterion A debate: A brief history, current status, and recommendations for moving forward.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Criterion A, also known as the "stressor criterion," has been a major source of debate ever since PTSD was added to the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1980. Since then, the traumatic stress field has held an ongoing debate about how to best define Criterion A and the events that it covers. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent race-based incidents, the Criterion A debate has been reinvigorated. In this paper, we review briefly the history of Criterion A and changes in its language across different editions of the DSM. We then describe the four main positions held by scholars involved in the Criterion A debate and carefully examine the support for those positions. We conclude by offering recommendations for moving forward.

An empirical investigation of definitions of subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder.

Subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has long been recognized as an important construct that identifies a subgroup of individuals who report significant PTSD symptoms and associated disability but do not endorse enough symptoms to meet the criteria for a full PTSD diagnosis. Different investigators have defined subthreshold PTSD in various ways, making it difficult to interpret findings across studies. To address this problem, we systematically compared individuals who met criteria for nine different subthreshold PTSD definitions with individuals diagnosed with either full PTSD or no PTSD (i.e., failed to meet the criteria for a subthreshold definition) with respect to prevalence and associated clinical outcomes of interest. Participants were 1,082 veterans enrolled in the Veterans After Discharge Longitudinal Registry. PTSD and subthreshold PTSD diagnostic status were determined using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5) and validated self-report instruments were used to assess clinical outcomes. Across outcomes, subthreshold definitions generally identified a group of participants that was distinguishable from participants in both the PTSD and no PTSD groups, rs = .02-.47. We discuss the benefits and drawbacks of various subthreshold definitions and highlight the need for additional work evaluating these definitions across additional outcomes and samples. In the interim, we propose a working case definition of subthreshold PTSD as meeting any three of the four DSM-5 symptom criteria (i.e., Criteria B, C, D, and E) along with Criterion A and Criteria F-H. The results suggest subthreshold PTSD is a clinically meaningful construct.

A clinician's guide to the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder.

A clinical practice guideline (CPG) is a rigorously established set of recommendations based on currently available evidence about the efficacy, safety, acceptability, and feasibility of interventions to assist with clinical decision-making. The 2023 Department of Veterans Affairs /Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder is described herein. The CPG recommendations are accompanied by a clinical algorithm, which incorporates principles of evidence-based practice, shared decision-making, and functional and contextual assessments of goals and outcomes. An overview of the CPG recommendations is combined with a discussion of questions that clinicians and patients may face in implementing the CPG and suggestions for how to effectively work with the CPG.

Employment status among US military veterans with a history of posttraumatic stress disorder: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

The current study examined the prevalence and correlates of employment status in a nationally representative sample of U.S. military veterans with a probable lifetime history of posttraumatic stress disorder. Participants were 4,609 veterans from National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (NHRVS) Bivariate analyses compared the employment status of veterans with regard to sociodemographic, military, health, and psychiatric characteristics. A multinomial regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect of lifetime PTSD status on employment and identify variables that differentiated employment status among veterans with a history of PTSD. In the total sample, 450 (weighted 12.5%) screened positive for lifetime PTSD. Veterans with PTSD were more than twice as likely to be unemployed, OR = 2.41, and retired, OR = 2.26, and nearly 4 times as likely to be disabled, OR = 3.84, relative to those without PTSD. Among veterans with PTSD, 203 (54.0%) were employed, 178 were retired (28.2%), 31 (7.3%) were unemployed, and 38 (10.5%) were disabled. Relative to employed veterans, retired veterans were older and reported more medical conditions; unemployed veterans were almost 5 times as likely to be female; disabled veterans reported lower income, more medical conditions, and more severe symptoms of current major depressive disorder but less severe symptoms of alcohol use disorder, ORs = 0.88-4.88. This study provides an up-to-date characterization of employment status in a nationally representative sample of U.S. military veterans with a history of PTSD. Results may inform efforts to provide sustainable employment in this segment of the population.

Early predictors of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder symptom trajectories in U.S. Army soldiers deployed to the Iraq war zone.

The course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms varies among veterans of war zones, but sources of variation in long-term symptom course remain poorly understood. Modeling of symptom growth trajectories facilitates the understanding of predictors of individual outcomes over time. Although growth mixture modeling (GMM) has been applied to military populations, few studies have incorporated both predeployment and follow-up measurements over an extended time. In this prospective study, 1,087 U.S. Army soldiers with varying military occupational specialties and geographic locations were assessed before and after deployment to the Iraq war zone, with long-term follow-up assessment occurring at least 5 years after return from deployment. The primary outcome variable was the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version summary score. GMM yielded four latent profiles, characterized as primarily asymptomatic (n = 194, 17.8%); postdeployment worsening symptoms (n = 84, 7.7%); mild symptoms (n = 320, 29.4%); and preexisting, with a chronic postdeployment elevation of symptoms (n = 489, 45.0%). Regression models comparing the primarily asymptomatic class to the symptomatic classes revealed that chronic symptom classes were associated with higher degrees of stress exposure, less predeployment social support, military reservist or veteran status at the most recent assessment, and poorer predeployment visual memory, ORs = 0.98-2.90. PTSD symptom course varies considerably over time after military deployment and is associated with potentially modifiable biopsychosocial factors that occur early in its course in addition to exposures and military status.

A mixed-methods evaluation of why an implementation trial failed to engage veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-focused psychotherapy.

An effectiveness trial found that telemedicine collaborative care for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) significantly increased engagement in trauma-focused psychotherapy (TFP) and improved PTSD symptoms. However, in a subsequent implementation trial, very few veterans enrolled in collaborative care initiated TFP. We conducted a mixed-methods evaluation to determine why veterans did not initiate TFP in the implementation trial. After conducting chart reviews of 1,071 veterans with PTSD enrolled in collaborative care, patients were categorized into four mutually exclusive TFP groups: TFP not discussed; TFP discussed, declined; TFP discussed, did not decline; and TFP initiated. We conducted semistructured interviews with 43 unique patients and 58 unique providers (i.e., care managers and mental health specialists). Almost half (48.6%) of the veterans had no documentation of discussing TFP with their care manager; another 28.9% discussed it but declined. Most veterans (77.1%) had an encounter with a mental health specialist, 36.8% of whom never discussed TFP, and 35.7% of whom discussed it but declined. Providers reported that many veterans were not able, willing, or ready to engage in TFP and that non-trauma-focused therapies were better aligned with their treatment goals. Veterans gave numerous reasons for not initiating TFP, including having bad prior experiences with TFP and wanting to avoid thinking about past traumatic experiences. Commonly cited reasons for noninitiation were providers never discussing TFP with veterans and veterans declining TFP after discussing it with their provider. Interventions, such as shared decision-making tools, may be needed to engage providers and patients in informed discussions about TFP.

Risk of psychopathology following traumatic events among immigrants and native-born persons in Denmark.

PURPOSE: Immigrants may have increased risk of mental disorders compared with native-born persons. We aimed to expand the limited research on immigrants' posttraumatic psychopathology related to traumatic experiences in their country of resettlement. METHODS: We obtained data from a cohort of Danish residents with ≥ 1 traumatic event recorded in health and administrative national registries during 1994-2016. We calculated risks of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance use disorders (SUD) within 5 years post-trauma among native-born Danes and immigrants who had been in Denmark for ≥ 10 years at the time of their index trauma (including immigrants overall and immigrants from specific regions). Risks were compared via age- and sex-standardized risk ratios (SRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We restricted to persons with no record of the disorder under investigation in the 10 years pre-trauma, and stratified by non-interpersonal (e.g., transport accidents) versus interpersonal trauma (e.g., assaults). RESULTS: Following non-interpersonal trauma, immigrants were more likely than native-born Danes to be diagnosed with PTSD (SRR = 5.2, 95% CI 4.6, 5.9), about as likely to be diagnosed with depression (SRR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.92, 1.1), and less likely to be diagnosed with SUD (SRR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.82, 0.95). Results were similar following interpersonal trauma, except the SRR for PTSD was reduced in magnitude (SRR = 3.0, 95% CI 1.7, 5.4). There were differences by region of birth. CONCLUSION: Immigrants to Denmark have higher risk of PTSD following traumatic experiences than do native-born Danes, possibly due to the combined influence of adverse pre-, peri-, and/or post-migration experiences.

Comparative Effectiveness of Direct-Acting Antivirals for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans Affairs Patients With Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

We recently conducted an exploratory study that indicated that several direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), highly effective medications for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, were also associated with improvement in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a national cohort of US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients treated between October 1, 1999, and September 30, 2019. Limiting the same cohort to patients with PTSD and HCV, we compared the associations of individual DAAs with PTSD symptom improvement using propensity score weighting. After identifying patients who had available baseline and endpoint PTSD symptom data as measured with the PTSD Checklist (PCL), we compared changes over the 8-12 weeks of DAA treatment. The DAAs most prescribed in conjunction with PCL measurement were glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (GLE/PIB; n = 54), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL; n = 54), and ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF; n = 145). GLE/PIB was superior to LDV/SOF, with a mean difference in improvement of 7.3 points on the PCL (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 13.6). The mean differences in improvement on the PCL were smaller between GLE/PIB and SOF/VEL (3.0, 95% CI: -6.3, 12.2) and between SOF/VEL and LDV/SOF (4.4, 95% CI: -2.4, 11.2). While almost all patients were cured of HCV (92.5%) regardless of the agent received, PTSD outcomes were superior for those receiving GLE/PIB compared with those receiving LDV/SOF, indicating that GLE/PIB may merit further investigation as a potential PTSD treatment.

A clinical trial comparing trauma-informed guilt reduction therapy (TrIGR), a brief intervention for trauma-related guilt, to supportive care therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma-related guilt is common, associated with posttraumatic mental health problems, and can persist after posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. We compared the efficacy of two six-session psychotherapies, Trauma-Informed Guilt Reduction (TrIGR) and Supportive Care Therapy (SCT), for reducing trauma-related guilt. TrIGR helps patients accurately appraise their role in the trauma and re-engage in values. In SCT, patients guide session content. METHODS: A total of 184 veterans seeking VA mental health services were enrolled across two sites; 145 veterans (mean age: 39.2 [8.1]; 92.4% male; 84.8% with PTSD) who endorsed guilt related to a traumatic event that occurred during a post 9/11 Iraq or Afghanistan deployment were randomized and assessed at baseline, posttreatment, 3- and 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Linear mixed models using intent-to-treat analyses showed guilt decreased in both conditions with a greater decrease for TrIGR (treatment × time, -0.22; F 1, 455.2 = 18.49, p = .001; d = 0.92) than supportive therapy. PTSD and depressive symptoms showed the same pattern. TrIGR had significantly higher likelihood of PTSD treatment response (67% vs. 40%), loss of PTSD diagnosis (50% vs. 14%), and meaningful change in depression (54% vs. 27%) than supportive therapy. Psychological distress and trait shame improved in both conditions. Quality of life did not change. CONCLUSIONS: Targeting guilt appears to be an effective means for reducing posttraumatic symptoms and distress.

Increased Smoking Cessation Among Veterans With Large Decreases in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Severity.

INTRODUCTION: Improvement in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with better health behavior such as better medication adherence and greater use of nutrition and weight loss programs. However, it is not known if reducing PTSD severity is associated with smoking cessation, a poor health behavior common in patients with PTSD. AIMS AND METHODS: Veterans Health Affairs (VHA) medical record data (2008-2015) were used to identify patients with PTSD diagnosed in specialty care. Clinically meaningful PTSD improvement was defined as ≥20 point PTSD Checklist (PCL) decrease from the first PCL ≥50 and the last available PCL within 12 months and at least 8 weeks later. The association between clinically meaningful PTSD improvement and smoking cessation within 2 years after baseline among 449 smokers was estimated in Cox proportional hazard models. Entropy balancing controlled for confounding. RESULTS: On average, patients were 39.4 (SD = 12.9) years of age, 86.6% were male and 71.5% were white. We observed clinically meaningful PTSD improvement in 19.8% of participants. Overall, 19.4% quit smoking in year 1 and 16.6% in year 2. More patients with versus without clinically meaningful PTSD improvement stopped smoking (n = 36, cumulative incidence = 40.5% vs. 111, cumulative incidence = 30.8%, respectively). After controlling for confounding, patients with versus without clinically meaningful PTSD improvement were more likely to stop smoking within 2 years (hazard ratio = 1.57; 95% confidence interval: 1.04-2.36). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with clinically meaningful PTSD improvement were significantly more likely to stop smoking. Further research should determine if targeted interventions are needed or whether improvement in PTSD symptoms is sufficient to enable smoking cessation. IMPLICATIONS: Patients with PTSD are more likely to develop chronic health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Poor health behaviors, including smoking, partly explain the risk for chronic disease in this patient population. Our results demonstrate that clinically meaningful PTSD improvement is followed by greater likelihood of smoking cessation. Thus, PTSD treatment may enable healthier behaviors and reduce risk for smoking-related disease.

"Will it work for me?" Developing patient-friendly graphical displays of posttraumatic stress disorder treatment effectiveness.

The goal of this study was to create simple visual displays to help patients understand the benefits of evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We reviewed randomized trials of the most effective individual, trauma-focused psychotherapies and first-line antidepressants for adults with PTSD. The analytic sample included 65 treatment arms from 41 trials. We used binomial logistic regression to estimate the proportion of participants who lost their PTSD diagnosis at posttreatment and created a sample icon array to display these estimates. We provide a range of estimates (0-100) based on varying the percentage of the sample with a military affiliation. The percentage of participants who no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD among civilian populations was 64.3% for trauma-focused treatment, 56.9% for SSRI/SNRI, and 16.7% for waitlist/minimal attention. For military populations, the proportions of participants who no longer met the diagnostic criteria were 44.2%, 36.7%, and 8.1%, respectively. We present icon arrays for 0%, 7%, 50%, and 100% military affiliation displaying 100 icons, a portion of which were shaded to indicate the number of participants that no longer met the PTSD criteria following treatment. After evidence-based treatment, between one third and two thirds of participants no longer met the PTSD criteria. Providers can use the icon array developed in this study with patients to facilitate communication regarding PTSD treatment effectiveness.

The mental health of Vietnam theater veterans-the lasting effects of the war: 2016-2017 Vietnam Era Health Retrospective Observational Study.

Mental health data from the 2016-2017 Vietnam Era Health Retrospective Observational Study (VE-HEROeS) were analyzed by cohort, represented by United States Vietnam theater veterans (VTs) who served in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos; nontheater veterans (NTs) without theater service; and age- and sex-matched nonveterans (NVs) without military service. The exposure of interest was Vietnam theater service. Surveys mailed to random samples of veterans (n = 42,393) and nonveterans (n = 6,885) resulted in response rates of 45.0% for veterans (n = 6,735 VTs, Mage = 70.09, SE = 0.04; n = 12,131 NTs) and 67.0% for NVs (n = 4,530). We examined self-report data on four mental health outcomes: probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, psychological distress, and overall mental health functioning. Weighted adjusted odds ratios (aORs) between each outcome and cohort were estimated, controlling for covariates in four models: cohort plus sociodemographic variables (Model 1), Model 1 plus physical health variables (Model 2), Model 2 plus potentially traumatic events (PTEs; Model 3), and Model 3 plus other military service variables (Model 4). Mental health outcome prevalence was highest for VTs versus other cohorts, with the largest aOR, 2.88, for PTSD, 95% CI [2.46, 3.37], p < .001 (Model 4, VT:NT). Physical health and PTEs contributed most to observed effects; other service variables contributed least to aORs overall. Mental health dysfunction persists among VTs years after the war's end. The present results reaffirm previous findings and highlight the need for continued mental health surveillance in VTs.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Psychotherapy Participation Among Individuals With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Enrolled in Treatment Research.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of daily life and required a rapid and unprecedented shift in psychotherapy delivery from in-person to telemental health. In the present study, we explored the impact of the pandemic on individuals' ability to participate in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) psychotherapy and the association between the impact of COVID-19 impact on health and financial well-being and psychotherapy participation. Participants (N = 161, 63.2% male, Mage = 42.7 years) were United States military veterans (n = 108), active duty military personnel (n = 12), and civilians (n = 6), who were participating in one of nine PTSD treatment trials. The results indicate a predominately negative COVID-19 impact on therapy participation, although some participants (26.1%) found attending therapy sessions through telehealth to be easier than in-person therapy. Most participants (66.7%) reported that completing in vivo exposure homework became harder during the pandemic. Moreover, the impact of the pandemic on PTSD symptom severity and daily stress were each associated with increased difficulty with aspects of therapy participation. The findings highlight the unique challenges to engaging in PTSD treatment during the pandemic as well as a negative impact on daily stress and PTSD severity, both of which were related to treatment engagement difficulties.

Using Danish national registry data to understand psychopathology following potentially traumatic experiences.

Research on posttraumatic psychopathology has focused primarily on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); other posttraumatic psychiatric diagnoses are less well documented. The present study aimed to (a) develop a methodology to derive a cohort of individuals who experienced potentially traumatic events (PTEs) from registry-based data and (b) examine the risk of psychopathology within 5 years of experiencing a PTE. Using data from Danish national registries, we created a cohort of individuals with no age restrictions (range: 0-108 years) who experienced at least one of eight possible PTEs between 1994 and 2016 (N = 1,406,637). We calculated the 5-year incidence of nine categories of ICD-10 psychiatric disorders among this cohort and examined standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) comparing the incidence of psychopathology in this group to the incidence in a nontraumatic stressor cohort (i.e., nonsuicide death of a relative; n = 423,270). Stress disorders (2.5%), substance use disorders (4.1%), and depressive disorders (3.0%) were the most common diagnoses following PTEs. Overall, the SMRs for the associations between any PTE and psychopathology varied from 1.9, 95% CI [1.9, 2.0], for stress disorders to 5.2, 95% CI [5.1. 5.3], for personality disorders. All PTEs except pregnancy-related trauma were associated with all forms of psychopathology. Associations were consistent regardless of whether a stress disorder was present. Traumatic experiences have a broad impact on psychiatric health. The present findings demonstrate one approach to capturing trauma exposure in medical record registry data. Increased traumatic experience characterization across studies will help improve the field's understanding of posttraumatic psychopathology.

Does COVID-19 count?: Defining Criterion A trauma for diagnosing PTSD during a global crisis.

INTRODUCTION: The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a globally significant crisis with a rapid spread worldwide, high rates of illness and mortality, a high degree of uncertainty, and a disruption of daily life across the sociodemographic spectrum. The clinically relevant psychological consequences of this catastrophe will be long-lasting and far-reaching. There is an emerging body of empirical literature related to the mental health aspects of this pandemic and this body will likely expand exponentially. The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of a historic catastrophe from which we can learn much and from which the field will need to archive, interpret, and synthesize a multitude of clinical and research observations. METHODS: In this commentary, we discuss situations and contexts in which a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may or may not apply within the context of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) criteria. RESULTS: Our consensus is that a COVID-related event cannot be considered traumatic unless key aspects of DSM-5's PTSD Criterion A have been established for a specific type of COVID-19 event (e.g., acute, life-threatening, and catastrophic). CONCLUSION: The application of a more liberal interpretation of Criterion A will dilute the PTSD diagnosis, increase heterogeneity, confound case-control research, and create an overall sample pool with varying degrees of risk and vulnerability factors.

Correspondence Between Retrospective and Momentary Self-Reported Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: Evidence for Peak and End Effects in Veterans.

Validated retrospective self-report symptom rating scales are recommended for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) screening and treatment. However, such reports may be affected by a respondent's most intense ("peak") or most recent ("end") symptoms. The present study evaluated the correspondence between PTSD symptoms assessed using a standard past-month retrospective rating scale and recorded by ecological momentary assessment (EMA) over the same period and tested hypotheses that retrospective scores would be predicted by peak and end-period momentary symptoms. Male U.S. veterans (N = 35) who served post-9/11 completed the PTSD Symptom Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) at baseline and 1 month later. For 28 days during the intervening period, they received quasi-randomly timed text prompts to complete a modified version of the PCL-5 at that moment. Using multiple regression modeling, controlling for the number of completed EMAs and time (days) since the last EMA, we assessed the predictability of follow-up retrospective PCL-5 scores by (a) the mean of all momentary scores and (b) peak and last-day momentary scores. Retrospective PCL-5 scores were closest to peak scores, d = -0.31, and substantially higher than overall mean, d = 0.99, and last-day momentary scores, d = 0.94. In the regression model, peak symptom experiences and last-day momentary symptoms uniquely predicted follow-up PCL-5 scores over and above significant prediction by overall mean momentary symptom scores. In sum, participants' self-reported past-month PTSD symptom severity did not simply reflect an average over time. Additional questioning is needed to understand peak and recent symptom periods reflected in these estimates.

Measurement Strategies for Evidence-Based Antidepressants for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Delivery: Trends and Associations with Patient-Reported Outcomes.

We sought to develop a quality standard for the prescription of antidepressants for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is both consistent with the underlying evidence supporting antidepressants as a treatment for PTSD and associated with the best levels of symptom improvement. We quantified antidepressant initiation during the first year of PTSD treatment in a 10-year national cohort of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) users, and compared outcomes in a subgroup who completed patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) as part of routine practice. We added progressively stringent measurement requirements. Prescribing quality for PTSD in the VA was stable over time. Use of PROM was rare in the case of antidepressant treatment, limiting our assessment of outcomes.

Evaluation of an Implementation Intervention to Increase Reach of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies for PTSD in US Veterans Health Administration PTSD Clinics.

To evaluate an implementation intervention to increase the uptake, referred to as reach, of two evidence-based psychotherapies (EBP) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) PTSD specialty clinics. The implementation intervention was external facilitation guided by a toolkit that bundled strategies associated with high EBP reach in prior research. We used a prospective quasi-experimental design. The facilitator worked with local champions at two low-reach PTSD clinics. Each intervention PTSD clinic was matched to three control clinics. We compared the change in EBP reach from 6-months pre- to post-intervention using Difference-in-Difference (DID) effect estimation. To incorporate possible clustering effects and adjust for imbalanced covariates, we used mixed effects logistic regression to model the probability of EBP receipt. Analyses were conducted separately for PTSD and other mental health clinics. 29,446 veterans diagnosed with PTSD received psychotherapy in the two intervention and six control sites in the two 6-month evaluation periods. The proportion of therapy patients with PTSD receiving an EBP increased by 16.98 percentage points in the intervention PTSD clinics compared with .45 percentage points in the control PTSD clinics (DID = 16.53%; SE = 2.26%). The adjusted odd ratio of a patient receiving an EBP from pre to post intervention was almost three times larger in the intervention than in the control PTSD clinics (RoR 2.90; 95% CI 2.22-3.80). EBP reach was largely unchanged in other (not PTSD specialty) mental health clinics within the same medical centers. Toolkit-guided external facilitation is a promising intervention to improve uptake of EBPs in VHA. Toolkits that pre-specify targets for clinic change based on prior research may enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of external facilitation. Trial registration ISRCTN registry identifier: ISRCTN65119065. Available at https://www.isrctn.com/search?q=ISRCTN65119065 .