Long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy for treatment-resistant depression in primary care: follow-up of the CoBalT randomised controlled trial

Post-Trial Sustainability and Scalability of the Benefits of a Medical Home for High-Risk Children with Medical Complexity

OBJECTIVE

To assess the sustainability of the benefits relative to usual care of a medical home providing comprehensive care for high-risk children with medical complexity (≥2 hospitalizations or ≥1 pediatric intensive care unit [PICU] admission in the year before enrollment) after we made comprehensive care our standard practice and expanded the program.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted pre-post comparisons of the rate of children with serious illness (death, PICU admission, or >7-day hospitalization) and health-system costs observed after program expansion (March 2014-June 2015) to those during the clinical trial (March 2011-August 2013) for each of the trial's treatment groups (usual care, n = 96, and comprehensive care, n = 105; primary analyses), and among all children given comprehensive care (n_Post-trial = 233, including trial usual care children who transitioned to comprehensive care post-trial and newly enrolled medically complex children, and n_Trial = 105; secondary analyses). We also analyzed the findings for the trial patients as a 2-phase stepped-wedge study.

RESULTS

In intent-to-treat analyses, rates of children with serious illness and costs were reduced or unchanged post-trial vs trial for the trial's usual care group (rate ratio [RR], 0.36; 95% CI, 0.20-0.64; cost ratio [CR], 0.68; 95% CI, 0.28-1.68), the trial's comprehensive care group (RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.39-1.41; CR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.51-0.89), and among all children given comprehensive care (RR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.61-1.52; CR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.61-0.93). Conservative stepped-wedge analyses identified overall benefits with comprehensive care across both study periods (RR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.30-0.72; CR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.43-0.99).

CONCLUSIONS

Major benefits of comprehensive care did not diminish with post-trial program expansion.

The effectiveness of four empirically supported psychotherapies for primary care depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Depressive and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and detrimental in primary care settings. However, there are gaps in the literature concerning effectiveness and generalizability of empirically supported interventions and treatment of both depression and anxiety in primary care settings. The aim of this review is to systematically assess and meta-analyze the effectiveness of brief empirically-supported psychotherapies for treating depression and/or anxiety in primary care.

METHODS

Seven electronic databases, five professional websites and manual search of reference lists were searched through April 2017 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of four psychotherapies treating primary care depression and anxiety: cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), problem-solving therapy (PST), motivational interviewing (MI), and solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT).

RESULTS

From an initial pool of 1140 articles, 179 articles were eligible for full-text review and 65 articles were included for final analysis. Sixty-five articles containing 198 effect sizes reported an overall treatment effect size of d = 0.462, p < 0.001. Single-predictor meta-regression indicated that marital status, treatment modality (individual versus group), and treatment composition were significant moderators. Multiple-predictor meta-regression discovered treatment setting (inside versus outside primary care) significantly moderated treatment effect, b = -0.863, p = 0.039 after controlling for other intervention characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Treatment effects were found for CBT and PST, both for depressive and anxiety disorders. Interventions delivered outside primary care settings were more effective than those within, individual treatment had greater treatment effects compared to group treatment, and both technology-assisted and in-person treatments were found to be effective.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common psychotherapy characterized as treating mental diseases, such as depression. Though multiple studies have reported its effect in treatment-resistant depression, no qualified meta-analysis has ever assessed this effect before. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of CBT for treatment-resistant depression patients and its continuous effect. We comprehensively searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library from inception to February 2018 for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A total of six RCTs involving 847 participants were included. Pooled analysis indicated that CBT was an efficient invention in reducing depression symptoms. Besides, CBT was also superior to control group in increasing response and remission rates. These effects could take effect at post-treatment, and last for 6 months, or even 1 year long. No publication bias was detected. These findings suggested that compared with routine antidepressant treatment, CBT has greater potential in taking immediate effect and has better mid-term and long-term prognosis.

Systematic review with meta-analysis: online psychological interventions for mental and physical health outcomes in gastrointestinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

Online psychotherapy has been successfully used as supportive treatment in many chronic illnesses. However, there is a lack of evidence on its role in the management of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.

AIMS

To examine whether online psychological interventions improve mental and physical outcomes in gastrointestinal diseases.

METHODS

We searched CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Health Management Information Consortium, PsycINFO, British Nursing Index, Cochrane Library, a specialised register of the IBD/FBD Cochrane Group, MEDLINE (PubMed) WHO International Clinical Trial Registry, ClinicalTrials.gov, and reference lists of all papers included in the review. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess internal validity. Where possible, data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS

We identified 11 publications (encompassing nine studies) meeting inclusion criteria. One study had a high risk of selection bias (allocation concealment), all studies had a high risk of performance and detection bias. Eight studies were included in the meta-analyses (6 on irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] and two on inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]). Online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) was shown to significantly improve gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety (MD: -8.51, 95% CI -12.99 to -4.04, P = 0.0002) and lessen symptom-induced disability (MD: -2.78, 95% CI -5.43 to -0.12, P = 0.04) in IBS post intervention. There was no significant effect of online CBT on any other outcomes in IBS. No significant effect of online psychotherapy was demonstrated in IBD.

CONCLUSION

There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of online CBT to manage mental and physical outcomes in gastrointestinal diseases.

Cognitive-behaviour therapy for health anxiety in medical patients (CHAMP): a randomised controlled trial with outcomes to 5 years

BACKGROUND

Health anxiety is an under-recognised but frequent cause of distress that is potentially treatable, but there are few studies in secondary care.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a modified form of cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) for health anxiety (CBT-HA) compared with standard care in medical outpatients.

DESIGN

Randomised controlled trial.

SETTING

Five general hospitals in London, Middlesex and Nottinghamshire.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 444 patients aged 16-75 years seen in cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology and respiratory medicine clinics who scored ≥ 20 points on the Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI) and satisfied diagnostic requirements for hypochondriasis. Those with current psychiatric disorders were excluded, but those with concurrent medical illnesses were not.

INTERVENTIONS

Cognitive-behaviour therapy for health anxiety - between 4 and 10 1-hour sessions of CBT-HA from a health professional or psychologist trained in the treatment. Standard care was normal practice in primary and secondary care.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary - researchers masked to allocation assessed patients at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 24 months and 5 years. The primary outcome was change in the HAI score between baseline and 12 months. Main secondary outcomes - costs of care in the two groups after 24 and 60 months, change in health anxiety (HAI), generalised anxiety and depression [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)] scores, social functioning using the Social Functioning Questionnaire and quality of life using the EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), at 6, 12, 24 and 60 months, and deaths over 5 years.

RESULTS

Of the 28,991 patients screened over 21 months, 5769 had HAI scores of ≥ 20 points. Improvement in HAI scores at 3 months was significantly greater in the CBT-HA group (mean number of sessions = 6) than in the standard care, and this was maintained over the 5-year period (overall p < 0.0001), with no loss of efficacy between 2 and 5 years. Differences in the generalised anxiety (p = 0.0018) and depression scores (p = 0.0065) on the HADS were similar in both groups over the 5-year period. Gastroenterology and cardiology patients showed the greatest CBT gains. The outcomes for nurses were superior to those of other therapists. Deaths (n = 24) were similar in both groups; those in standard care died earlier than those in CBT-HA. Patients with mild personality disturbance and higher dependence levels had the best outcome with CBT-HA. Total costs were similar in both groups over the 5-year period (£12,590.58 for CBT-HA; £13,334.94 for standard care). CBT-HA was not cost-effective in terms of quality-adjusted life-years, as measured using the EQ-5D, but was cost-effective in terms of HAI outcomes, and offset the cost of treatment.

LIMITATIONS

Many eligible patients were not randomised and the population treated may not be representative.

CONCLUSIONS

CBT-HA is a highly effective treatment for pathological health anxiety with lasting benefit over 5 years. It also improves generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms more than standard care. The presence of personality abnormality is not a bar to successful outcome. CBT-HA may also be cost-effective, but the high costs of concurrent medical illnesses obscure potential savings. This treatment deserves further research in medical settings.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN14565822.

FUNDING

This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 21, No. 50. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Psychological therapies for treatment-resistant depression in adults

BACKGROUND

Antidepressants are a first-line treatment for adults with moderate to severe major depression. However, many people prescribed antidepressants for depression don't respond fully to such medication, and little evidence is available to inform the most appropriate 'next step' treatment for such patients, who may be referred to as having treatment-resistant depression (TRD). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance suggests that the 'next step' for those who do not respond to antidepressants may include a change in the dose or type of antidepressant medication, the addition of another medication, or the start of psychotherapy. Different types of psychotherapies may be used for TRD; evidence on these treatments is available but has not been collated to date.Along with the sister review of pharmacological therapies for TRD, this review summarises available evidence for the effectiveness of psychotherapies for adults (18 to 74 years) with TRD with the goal of establishing the best 'next step' for this group.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effectiveness of psychotherapies for adults with TRD.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Common Mental Disorders Controlled Trials Register (until May 2016), along with CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO via OVID (until 16 May 2017). We also searched the World Health Organization (WHO) trials portal (ICTRP) and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify unpublished and ongoing studies. There were no date or language restrictions.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with participants aged 18 to 74 years diagnosed with unipolar depression that had not responded to minimum four weeks of antidepressant treatment at a recommended dose. We excluded studies of drug intolerance. Acceptable diagnoses of unipolar depression were based onthe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) or earlier versions, International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10, Feighner criteria, or Research Diagnostic Criteria. We included the following comparisons.1. Any psychological therapy versus antidepressant treatment alone, or another psychological therapy.2. Any psychological therapy given in addition to antidepressant medication versus antidepressant treatment alone, or a psychological therapy alone.Primary outcomes required were change in depressive symptoms and number of dropouts from study or treatment (as a measure of acceptability).

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We extracted data, assessed risk of bias in duplicate, and resolved disagreements through discussion or consultation with a third person. We conducted random-effects meta-analyses when appropriate. We summarised continuous outcomes using mean differences (MDs) or standardised mean differences (SMDs), and dichotomous outcomes using risk ratios (RRs).

MAIN RESULTS

We included six trials (n = 698; most participants were women approximately 40 years of age). All studies evaluated psychotherapy plus usual care (with antidepressants) versus usual care (with antidepressants). Three studies addressed the addition of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) to usual care (n = 522), and one each evaluated intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) (n = 60), interpersonal therapy (IPT) (n = 34), or group dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) (n = 19) as the intervention. Most studies were small (except one trial of CBT was large), and all studies were at high risk of detection bias for the main outcome of self-reported depressive symptoms.A random-effects meta-analysis of five trials (n = 575) showed that psychotherapy given in addition to usual care (vs usual care alone) produced improvement in self-reported depressive symptoms (MD -4.07 points, 95% confidence interval (CI) -7.07 to -1.07 on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale) over the short term (up to six months). Effects were similar when data from all six studies were combined for self-reported depressive symptoms (SMD -0.40, 95% CI -0.65 to -0.14; n = 635). The quality of this evidence was moderate. Similar moderate-quality evidence of benefit was seen on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Scale (PHQ-9) from two studies (MD -4.66, 95% CI 8.72 to -0.59; n = 482) and on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) from four studies (MD -3.28, 95% CI -5.71 to -0.85; n = 193).High-quality evidence shows no differential dropout (a measure of acceptability) between intervention and comparator groups over the short term (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.24; six studies; n = 698).Moderate-quality evidence for remission from six studies (RR 1.92, 95% CI 1.46 to 2.52; n = 635) and low-quality evidence for response from four studies (RR 1.80, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.7; n = 556) indicate that psychotherapy was beneficial as an adjunct to usual care over the short term.With the addition of CBT, low-quality evidence suggests lower depression scores on the BDI scale over the medium term (12 months) (RR -3.40, 95% CI -7.21 to 0.40; two studies; n = 475) and over the long term (46 months) (RR -1.90, 95% CI -3.22 to -0.58; one study; n = 248). Moderate-quality evidence for adjunctive CBT suggests no difference in acceptability (dropout) over the medium term (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.66 to 1.47; two studies; n = 549) and lower dropout over long term (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.97; one study; n = 248).Two studies reported serious adverse events (one suicide, two hospitalisations, and two exacerbations of depression) in 4.2% of the total sample, which occurred only in the usual care group (no events in the intervention group).An economic analysis (conducted as part of an included study) from the UK healthcare perspective (National Health Service (NHS)) revealed that adjunctive CBT was cost-effective over nearly four years.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Moderate-quality evidence shows that psychotherapy added to usual care (with antidepressants) is beneficial for depressive symptoms and for response and remission rates over the short term for patients with TRD. Medium- and long-term effects seem similarly beneficial, although most evidence was derived from a single large trial. Psychotherapy added to usual care seems as acceptable as usual care alone.Further evidence is needed on the effectiveness of different types of psychotherapies for patients with TRD. No evidence currently shows whether switching to a psychotherapy is more beneficial for this patient group than continuing an antidepressant medication regimen. Addressing this evidence gap is an important goal for researchers.

One-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of sertraline and cognitive behavior group therapy in depressed primary care patients (MIND study)

BACKGROUND

The long-term course of symptoms in patients with mild-to-moderate depression is not well understood. A 12-month-follow-up analysis was performed on those participants from a randomized controlled 10-week trial (RCT, MIND-study), who had received either treatment with an antidepressant (sertraline) or a psychotherapeutic intervention (group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)).

METHODS

The longitudinal interval follow-up evaluation (LIFE) was applied to 77 patients with mild-to moderate depression. The primary outcome was the number of weeks in the one-year follow-up period spent completely recovered from all depressive symptoms. Functional outcome was measured with the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. Further outcomes were relapse and remission rates based on weekly psychiatric rating scales (PSR) and the number of weeks in the follow-up period during which patients had a depressive disorder or subthreshold symptoms of depression.

RESULTS

Patients with acute treatment (10 weeks) with SSRI and those with acute treatment with CBT (also 10 weeks) did not differ significantly concerning the number of weeks in the follow-up period in which they were completely recovered (primary outcome) (SSRI: 31.6 weeks (standard deviation (SD): 23.7), CBT: 27.8 weeks (SD: 24.3)). Sertraline was superior to CBT regarding GAF scores by trend (p = 0.06).

LIMITATIONS

The generalizability of the findings is limited by the moderate sample size and missing values (LIFE).

CONCLUSIONS

Sertraline and group CBT have similar anti-depressive effects in the long-term course of mild-to-moderate depression. Regarding long-term global functioning, sertraline seems to be slightly superior to CBT.

Effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy for treatment-resistant depression with psychiatric comorbidity: comparison of individual versus group CBT in an interdisciplinary rehabilitation setting

BACKGROUND

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective, yet there is a paucity of research on the differential effectiveness of individual and group CBT for adults with treatment-resistant depression with psychiatric comorbidity.

AIMS

To investigate the effectiveness of individual and group CBT for inpatients, in an interdisciplinary rehabilitation setting; the extent of psychiatric comorbidity; and who benefits the most from group CBT.

METHODS

All patients (n = 181) received 6 weeks of rehabilitation (treatment as usual, TAU). In addition, they were randomly allocated to group CBT (n = 86) or individual CBT (n = 59) combined with TAU, or TAU only (n = 36). All CBT therapists were part of an interdisciplinary team, had at least 1-year CBT training, and attended weekly supervision. The same CBT manual was used for individual and group therapy, providing 12 sessions, two per week. Groups had 12-15 participants and two therapists in each session.

RESULTS

Individual CBT was superior in efficacy to group CBT and TAU, with a large within-subject effect size (ES = 2.10). Group CBT was not superior to TAU. The benefits of treatment decreased over time, but remained large at 18-month follow-up for individual CBT (ES = 1.02), and medium for group CBT (ES = 0.46) and TAU (ES = 0.60).

CONCLUSIONS

Individual CBT was an effective addition to TAU and showed significant improvements in symptom severity post-treatment and at 18-month follow-up. Disorder severity and comorbidity may have decreased effectiveness of group therapy primarily aimed at depression.

Cost-effectiveness of In-Home Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for low-income depressed mothers participating in early childhood prevention programs

BACKGROUND

To determine the cost-effectiveness of In-Home Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (IH-CBT) for low-income mothers enrolled in a home visiting program.

METHODS

A cost-utility analysis was conducted using results from a clinical trial of IH-CBT and standard of care for depression derived from the literature. A probabilistic, patient-level Markov model was developed to determine Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). Costs were determined using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. A three-year time horizon and payer perspective were used. Sensitivity analyses were employed to determine robustness of the model.

RESULTS

IH-CBT was cost-effective relative to standard of care. IH-CBT was expected to be cost-effective at a three-year time horizon 99.5%, 99.7%, and 99.9% of the time for willingness-to-pay thresholds of US$25,000, US$50,000, and US$100,000, respectively. Patterns were upheld at one-year and five-year time horizons. Over the three-year time horizon, mothers receiving IH-CBT were expected to have 345.6 fewer days of depression relative to those receiving standard home visiting and treatment in the community.

CONCLUSIONS

IH-CBT is a more cost-effective treatment for low-income, depressed mothers than current standards of practice. These findings add to the growing literature demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of CBT for depression, and expand it to cover new mothers. From a payer perspective, IH-CBT is a sound option for treatment of depressed, low-income mothers. Limitations include a restricted time horizon and estimating of standard of care costs.

Biofeedback

Although evidence supports the efficacy of biofeedback for treating a number of disorders and for enhancing performance, significant barriers block both needed research and payer support for this method. Biofeedback has demonstrated effects in changing psychophysiological substrates of various emotional, physical, and psychosomatic problems, but payers are reluctant to reimburse for biofeedback services. A considerable amount of biofeedback research is in the form of relatively small well-controlled trials (Phase II trials). This article argues for greater payer support and research support for larger trials in the “real life” clinical environment (Phase III trials) and meta-analytic reviews.

An Introduction From the New Psychotherapy Columnist

Despite psychiatry's shift toward a biomedical model, emerging research suggests that psychosocial factors make major contributions to the etiology of mental disorders of all kinds and that several types of psychotherapy have been shown to be effective forms of treatment for a range of disorders. Notwithstanding these findings, psychiatrists are doing less psychotherapy and attending less to psychosocial factors in their work with patients. The author surveys some of the underpinnings of this problem and discusses the value of psychotherapy as part of psychiatric practice and training.

Individuals' Long Term Use of Cognitive Behavioural Skills to Manage their Depression: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) aims to teach people skills to help them self-manage their depression. Trial evidence shows that CBT is an effective treatment for depression and individuals may experience benefits long-term. However, there is little research about individuals' continued use of CBT skills once treatment has finished.

AIMS

To explore whether individuals who had attended at least 12 sessions of CBT continued to use and value the CBT skills they had learnt during therapy.

METHOD

Semi-structured interviews were held with participants from the CoBalT trial who had received CBT, approximately 4 years earlier. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically.

RESULTS

20 participants were interviewed. Analysis of the interviews suggested that individuals who viewed CBT as a learning process, at the time of treatment, recalled and used specific skills to manage their depression once treatment had finished. In contrast, individuals who viewed CBT only as an opportunity to talk about their problems did not appear to utilize any of the CBT skills they had been taught and reported struggling to manage their depression once treatment had ended.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest individuals may value and use CBT skills if they engage with CBT as a learning opportunity at the time of treatment. Our findings underline the importance of the educational model in CBT and the need to emphasize this to individuals receiving treatment.

Major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating disease that is characterized by depressed mood, diminished interests, impaired cognitive function and vegetative symptoms, such as disturbed sleep or appetite. MDD occurs about twice as often in women than it does in men and affects one in six adults in their lifetime. The aetiology of MDD is multifactorial and its heritability is estimated to be approximately 35%. In addition, environmental factors, such as sexual, physical or emotional abuse during childhood, are strongly associated with the risk of developing MDD. No established mechanism can explain all aspects of the disease. However, MDD is associated with alterations in regional brain volumes, particularly the hippocampus, and with functional changes in brain circuits, such as the cognitive control network and the affective-salience network. Furthermore, disturbances in the main neurobiological stress-responsive systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the immune system, occur in MDD. Management primarily comprises psychotherapy and pharmacological treatment. For treatment-resistant patients who have not responded to several augmentation or combination treatment attempts, electroconvulsive therapy is the treatment with the best empirical evidence. In this Primer, we provide an overview of the current evidence of MDD, including its epidemiology, aetiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment.

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a specialist depression service versus usual specialist mental health care to manage persistent depression: a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Persistent moderate or severe unipolar depression is common and expensive to treat. Clinical guidelines recommend combined pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Such treatments can take up to 1 year to show an effect, but no trials of suitable duration have been done. We investigated the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of outpatient-based, specialist depression services (SDS) versus treatment as usual (TAU) on depression symptoms and function.

METHODS

We did a multicentre, single-blind, patient-level, parallel, randomised controlled trial (RCT), as part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) study, in three mental health outpatient settings in England. Eligible participants were in secondary care, were older than 18 years, had unipolar depression (with a current major depressive episode, a 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HDRS17] score of ≥16, and a Global Assessment of Function [GAF] score of ≤60), and had not responded to 6 months or more of treatment for depression. Randomisation was stratified by site with allocation conveyed to a trial administrator, with research assessors masked to outcome. Patients were randomised (1:1) using a computer-generated pseudo-random code with random permuted blocks of varying sizes of two, four, or six to either SDS (collaborative care approach between psychiatrists and cognitive behavioural therapists for 12 months, followed by graduated transfer of care up to 15 months) or to the TAU group. Intention-to-treat primary outcome measures were changes in HDRS17 and GAF scores between baseline and 6, 12, and 18 months' follow-up. We will separately publish follow-up outcomes for months 24 and 36. Clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness were examined from health and social care persp ectives at 18 months, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01047124) and the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN10963342); the trial has ended.

FINDINGS

307 patients were assessed for eligibility between Dec 21, 2009, and Oct 31, 2012. 94 patients were assigned to TAU and 93 patients to SDS, and were included in intention-to-treat analyses. The changes from baseline to 6 months in HDRS17 and GAF scores did not significantly differ between treatment groups (mean change difference in HDRS17 score -1·01 [95% CI -3·30 to 1·28], p=0·385; and in GAF score 1·33 [-2·92 to 5·57], p=0·538). Primary outcome data were available for 134 (72%) patients at 12 months. We noted no differences at 12 months' follow-up between SDS and TAU for mean HDRS17 score (14·8 [SD 7·9] in the SDS group vs 17·2 [7·3] in the TAU group, p=0·056) or GAF score (60·4 [11·7] vs 55·8 [12·7], p=0·064), and the changes from baseline to 12 months in HDRS17 and GAF scores did not significantly differ between treatment groups (mean change difference in HDRS17 score -2·45 [95% CI -5·04 to 0·14], p=0·064; and in GAF score 4·12 [-0·11 to 8·35], p=0·056). The mean change in HDRS17 score from baseline to 18 months was significantly improved in the SDS group compared with the TAU group (13·6 [SD 8·8] in the SDS group vs 16·1 [6·6] in the TAU group; mean change difference -2·96 [95% CI -5·33 to -0·59], p=0·015), but the GAF scores showed no significant differences between the groups (61·2 [SD 13·0] vs 57·7 [11·9]; mean change difference 3·82 [-9·3 to 8·57], p=0·113). We reported no deaths, but one (1%) patient was admitted to hospital for myocardial infarction, and three episodes of self-harm were reported in three (2%) patients (two receiving TAU, one receiving SDS care). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of SDS versus TAU was £43 603 per quality-adjusted life-year.

INTERPRETATION

Compared with usual specialist mental health secondary care, SDS might improve depression symptoms for patients with persistent moderate to severe depression, but functional outcomes and economic benefits are equivocal.

FUNDING

National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care, UK Medical Research Council, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, University of Nottingham.

Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Major Depressive Disorder: Section 2. Psychological Treatments

BACKGROUND

The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) has revised its 2009 guidelines for the management of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults by updating the evidence and recommendations. The target audiences for these 2016 guidelines are psychiatrists and other mental health professionals.

METHODS

Using the question-answer format, we conducted a systematic literature search focusing on systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Evidence was graded using CANMAT-defined criteria for level of evidence. Recommendations for lines of treatment were based on the quality of evidence and clinical expert consensus. "Psychological Treatments" is the second of six sections of the 2016 guidelines.

RESULTS

Evidence-informed responses were developed for 25 questions under 5 broad categories: 1) patient characteristics relevant to using psychological interventions; 2) therapist and health system characteristics associated with optimizing outcomes; 3) descriptions of major psychotherapies and their efficacy; 4) additional psychological interventions, such as peer interventions and computer- and technology-delivered interventions; and 5) combining and/or sequencing psychological and pharmacological interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

First-line psychological treatment recommendations for acute MDD include cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy (IPT), and behavioural activation (BA). Second-line recommendations include computer-based and telephone-delivered psychotherapy. Where feasible, combining psychological treatment (CBT or IPT) with antidepressant treatment is recommended because combined treatment is superior to either treatment alone. First-line psychological treatments for maintenance include CBT and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Patient preference, in combination with evidence-based treatments and clinician/system capacity, will yield the optimal treatment strategies for improving individual outcomes in MDD.