Sertraline Treatment of Nonresponders to Extended Cognitive-Behavior Therapy in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Remission and Relapse Across Three Years in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Following Evidence-Based Treatments

OBJECTIVE

To examine relapse rates following remission in a 3-year follow-up study in pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in a first step, and either continued CBT or sertraline (randomized selection) in a second step.

METHOD

Participants (N = 269) fulfilled DSM-IV OCD criteria with a mean severity on the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) of 24.6 (SD = 5.1) and were included in analyses according to intent-to-treat principles. CBT used manualized exposure and response prevention (ERP) during both steps 1 and 2, and step 2 sertraline medication used flexible dosing. The follow-up schedules were timed to 6, 12, 24, and 36 months following step 1 CBT. Remission was defined as a CY-BOCS score ≤10 and relapse as an elevated CY-BOCS score ≥16 in those who had remitted.

RESULTS

A good third of our patients were in stable and full remission at all examinations (n = 98, 36.4%). Further, some in remission following treatment (n = 36, 13.4%) had mild OCD at some examinations. Relapses during follow-up were not uncommon (n = 28, 10.4%), but in many patients these improved again (n = 10, 3.7%) and were in remission at the final 3-year follow-up. Furthermore, a considerable proportion (n = 50, 18.6%) of the patients were initial non-remitters to the treatment but achieved remission at some point during the follow-up. In addition, 11.5% (n = 31) had persistent OCD but reached remission by the last follow-up. Finally, a smaller segment of our sample (9.7%, n = 26), did not attain remission at any point during the study.

CONCLUSION

Our outcome paints a more promising picture of pediatric OCD long-term outcome than previous studies have done. However, both relapse rates and the presence of initial non-remitters and persistent OCD show that treatments need improvement, particularly for those who respond slowly, partially, or not at all. The lack of a general psychiatric interview at follow-up is a marked limitation.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Nordic Long-term Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; https://www.isrctn.com; ISRCTN66385119.

Specific Contamination Symptoms are Associated with Experiencing a Limited Response of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Pediatric Patients with OCD

A recent study identified three distinct treatment-response trajectories in pediatric OCD where higher levels of contamination symptoms predicted a limited response to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This study extends these findings by examining which specific symptoms characterize limited CBT response from baseline to 3-year follow-up, with an emphasis on contamination symptoms. The study sample comprised 269 pediatric patients with OCD, all receiving stepped-care treatment with manualized CBT. Differences in single item-reporting between the three trajectory groups were examined using linear mixed-effect modeling. Limited responders displayed a higher symptom load across all OCD symptom categories at 3-year follow-up, dominated by contamination symptoms. Five of these (obsessions about dirt and germs, about bodily fluids, about the feeling of contamination and compulsions regarding handwashing and showering) showed persistence from baseline to 3-year follow-up. The results indicate that presence of specific contamination symptoms may influence long-term symptom severity trajectories in young patients with OCD.

Long- term remission status in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Evaluating the predictive value of symptom severity after treatment

It is unknown if long-term remission for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients is associated with post-treatment OCD symptom severity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if post-treatment symptom severity cut-offs can discriminate remitters from non-remitters in pediatric OCD patients during three years of follow-up. All participants (N = 269) from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS) undergoing stepped-care treatment were included. Patients were rated with the Clinical Global Impression - Severity Scale (CGI-S) one (n = 186), two (n = 167), and three years (n = 166) after first-line cognitive-behavioral therapy. Post-treatment symptom severity scores as well as percentage reductions during treatment evaluated with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) were analyzed using receiver operating characteristics according to the CGI-S remission scores (< 2) at follow-up. Post-treatment CY-BOCS severity scores acceptably discriminated remitters from non-remitters at one-year follow-up, but poorly for the two- and three-year follow-up. Severity percentage reduction during treatment did not discriminate remission status acceptably at any follow-up point. Post-treatment OCD symptom severity status seems to have little discriminative value for long-term remission status in pediatric patients. Further research is warranted to detect post-treatment factors of prognostic value.

Quality of life in pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder during and 3 years after stepped-care treatment

The present study aimed to investigate the long-term quality of life (QoL) in a large sample of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. The study included 220 pediatric OCD patients from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS) who were evaluated at seven time points before, during, and after stepped-care treatment over a 3-year follow-up period. Data from three symptom severity trajectory classes formed the basis of the QoL evaluation: acute (n = 127, N = 147), slow (n = 46, N = 63), and limited responders (n = 47, N = 59). Patients' QoL was assessed using parent and child ratings of the revised Questionnaire for Measuring Health-related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents (KINDL-R). QoL was analyzed by trajectory class using a random mixed effects model. The association between pre-treatment factors and long-term QoL was investigated across classes in a multivariate model. Three years after treatment, the acute responder class had reached QoL levels from a general population, whereas the limited responder class had not. The slow responder class reached norm levels for the child-rated QoL only. Higher levels of co-occurring externalizing symptoms before treatment were associated with lower parent-rated QoL during follow-up, while adolescence and higher levels of co-occurring internalizing symptoms were associated with lower child-rated QoL during follow-up. For some patients, residual OCD symptoms in the years after treatment, even at levels below assumed clinical significance, are associated with compromised QoL. Co-occurring symptoms could be part of the explanation. Assessing QoL after OCD treatment, beyond the clinician-rated symptom severity, could detect patients in need of further treatment and/or assessment. Trial registry: Nordic Long-term Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com ; ISRCTN66385119.

Effect of an Internet-Delivered Stepped-Care Program vs In-Person Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptoms in Children and Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE

In most countries, young people with obsessive-compulsive disorder have limited access to specialist cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a first-line treatment.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether internet-delivered CBT implemented in a stepped-care model is noninferior to in-person CBT for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

A randomized clinical noninferiority trial conducted at 2 specialist child and adolescent mental health clinics in Sweden. Participants included 152 individuals aged 8 to 17 years with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Enrollment began in October 2017 and ended in May 2019. Follow-up ended in April 2020.

INTERVENTIONS

Participants randomized to the stepped-care group (n = 74) received internet-delivered CBT for 16 weeks. Nonresponders at the 3-month follow-up were then offered a course of traditional face-to-face treatment. Participants randomized to the control group (n = 78) immediately received in-person CBT for 16 weeks. Nonresponders at the 3-month follow-up received additional face-to-face treatment.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome was the masked assessor-rated Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) score at the 6-month follow-up. The scale includes 10 items rated from 0 (no symptoms) to 4 (extreme symptoms), yielding a total score range of 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater severity. Assessors were masked to treatment allocation at pretreatment, posttreatment, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up assessments. The predefined noninferiority margin was 4 points on the CY-BOCS.

RESULTS

Among the 152 randomized participants (mean age, 13.4 years; 94 [62%] females), 151 (99%) completed the trial. At the 3-month follow-up, 34 participants (46%) in the stepped-care group and 23 (30%) in the in-person CBT group were nonresponders. At the 6-month follow-up, the CY-BOCS score was 11.57 points in the stepped-care group vs 10.57 points in the face-to-face treatment group, corresponding to an estimated mean difference of 0.91 points ([1-sided 97.5% CI, -∞ to 3.28]; P for noninferiority = .02). Increased anxiety (30%-36%) and depressive symptoms (20%-28%) were the most frequently reported adverse events in both groups. There were 2 unrelated serious adverse events (1 in each group).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Among children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder, treatment with an internet-delivered CBT program followed by in-person CBT if necessary compared with in-person CBT alone resulted in a noninferior difference in symptoms at the 6-month follow-up. Further research is needed to understand the durability and generalizability of these findings.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03263546.

Distinct trajectories of long-term symptom severity in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder during and after stepped-care treatment

BACKGROUND

First-line treatments for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) include exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). No studies have thus far identified distinct classes and associated predictors of long-term symptom severity during and after treatment. Yet, these could form the basis for more personalized treatment in pediatric OCD.

METHOD

The study included 269 OCD patients aged 7-17 years from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS). All participants received stepped-care treatment starting with 14 weekly sessions of manualized CBT. Nonresponders were randomized to either prolonged CBT or SSRIs. Symptom severity was assessed using the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale at seven time points from pre- to post-treatment and over a three-year follow-up. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was performed to identify latent classes of symptom severity trajectories. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to detect differences between classes and identify predictors of trajectory class membership including several clinical and demographic variables.

TRIAL REGISTRY

Nordic Long-term Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com; ISRCTN66385119.

RESULTS

Three LCGA classes were identified: (a) acute, sustained responders (54.6%); (b) slow, continued responders (23.4%); and (c) limited long-term responders (21.9%). Class membership was predicted by distinct baseline characteristics pertaining to age, symptom severity, contamination/cleaning and anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The LCGA suggests three distinct trajectory classes of long-term symptom severity during and after treatment in pediatric OCD with different clinical profiles at pretreatment. The results point to required clinical attention for adolescent patients with contamination/cleaning and anxiety symptoms who do not show convincing responses to first-line treatment even though they may have reached the established cutoff for treatment response.

Clinical advances in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a position statement by the International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders

In this position statement, developed by The International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders, a group of international experts responds to recent developments in the evidence-based management of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The article presents those selected therapeutic advances judged to be of utmost relevance to the treatment of OCD, based on new and emerging evidence from clinical and translational science. Areas covered include refinement in the methods of clinical assessment, the importance of early intervention based on new staging models and the need to provide sustained well-being involving effective relapse prevention. The relative benefits of psychological, pharmacological and somatic treatments are reviewed and novel treatment strategies for difficult to treat OCD, including neurostimulation, as well as new areas for research such as problematic internet use, novel digital interventions, immunological therapies, pharmacogenetics and novel forms of psychotherapy are discussed.