Impact and efficiency of treatment across two PTSD clinical trials comparing in-person and telehealth service delivery formats.

The intent of this study is to examine treatment impact and efficiency observed when cognitive behavioral treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are delivered in-person or using telehealth. This study pooled data from 268 veterans enrolled in two PTSD clinical trials. In both trials, treatment was delivered using in-home telehealth (telehealth arm), in-home in-person (in-home arm), and in-office care, where patients traveled to the Department of Veterans Affairs for either office-based telehealth or office-based in-person care (office arm). Average age was 44 (SD = 12.57); 80.9% were males. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) was used to assess symptom severity. Treatment impact was measured by (a) the proportion of participants who completed at least eight treatment sessions and (b) the proportion with a reliable change of ≥ 10 points on the PCL-5. Treatment efficiency was measured by the number of days required to reach the end point. The proportion of participants who attended at least eight sessions and achieved reliable change on the PCL-5 differed across treatment formats (ps < .05). Participants in the in-home (75.4%) format were most likely to attend at least eight treatment sessions, followed by those in the telehealth (58.3%) and office (44.0%) formats, the latter of which required patients to travel. Participants in the in-home (68.3%, p < .001) format were also more likely to achieve reliable change, followed by those in the telehealth (50.9%) and office (44.2%) formats. There were no significant differences in the amount of time to complete at least eight sessions. Delivery of therapy in-home results in a significantly greater likelihood of achieving both an adequate dose of therapy and a reliable decrease in PTSD symptoms compared to telehealth and office formats. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Patterns of acute stress disorder in a sample of blast-injured military service members: A latent profile analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aims of this study were to identify latent profiles of acute stress disorder (ASD) symptoms and to evaluate postconcussive symptom differences across the identified profiles as measured by the Acute Stress Disorder Scale and the Military Acute Concussion Evaluation, respectively. METHOD: Participants (N = 315) in the current study were predominantly active-duty (75.0%), enlisted (97.8%) males (97.4%) serving in the U.S. Army (87.8%). Approximately, half of the sample reported being married or engaged (51.1%) and was on average 25.94 (SD = 6.31) years old. Participants were referred to the Air Force Theater Hospital, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Joint Base Balad, Iraq, to be evaluated as part of routine clinical assessment for neurocognitive and psychological symptoms following exposure to a blast. RESULTS: A 3-profile solution was identified as the most parsimonious and best-fitting model based on statistical model fit indices. Blast injured service members in Profile 3 had greater ASD total and subscale severity compared to the other 2 subgroups, with effect size estimates largely differing by hyperarousal and reexperiencing symptoms. Furthermore, Profiles 2 and 3 were more likely to demonstrate postconcussive symptoms compared to Profile 1. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide novel information on heterogenous ASD symptom profiles during the acute phase following a blast injury and highlight the relationship between psychological and physical symptoms. Classification of blast-injured service members may help identify at-risk individuals who would benefit from further clinical care and mitigate long-term psychological and neurocognitive issues. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Treatment responder status and time to response as a function of hazardous drinking among active-duty military receiving variable-length cognitive processing therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.

OBJECTIVE: A common concern is whether individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and hazardous drinking will respond to PTSD treatment or need a higher dose. In a sample of active-duty military, we examined the impact of hazardous drinking on cognitive processing therapy (CPT) outcomes and whether number of sessions to reach good end-state or dropout differed by drinking status. METHOD: Participants included 127 service members participating in a clinical trial of variable-length CPT. The Quick Drinking Screen was used to characterize drinking. Participants were categorized as treatment responders when they reached good end-state (<20 on the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5) or nonresponders if they completed 24 sessions or 18 weeks of treatment without good end-state. Survival analyses were used to compare time to dropout or good end-state between those with and without hazardous drinking. RESULTS: Those with hazardous drinking were as likely as those without to reach good end-state and no more likely to drop out. There were no differences in number of sessions to reach good end-state or dropout. On a gold-standard assessment, those with hazardous drinking evidenced more PTSD symptom reduction than those without. The overall proportion of participants with hazardous drinking decreased (30.7% to 18.6%), as did mean number of drinks per drinking day and drinks on the heaviest drinking day among those initially drinking hazardously. CONCLUSIONS: Results support using CPT for military personnel with PTSD and hazardous drinking and indicate that those with hazardous drinking can benefit from PTSD treatment without additional treatment sessions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Post-9/11 service members: Associations between gender, marital status, and psychiatric aeromedical evacuations from combat zones.

Psychiatric aeromedical evacuations are one of the leading causes of medical related evacuations of US military personnel from combat. Currently, no studies have examined gender and marital status of individuals who were evacuated from combat for a psychiatric diagnosis. Psychiatric aeromedical evacuation data from 5,957 United States military personnel deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan between 2001 and 2013 were analyzed using chi-square tests of independence, odds ratios (OR), and standardized residuals. Analyses showed that female service members were evacuated at higher rates (178 per 100,000) than males (115 per 100,000). When compared to nonmarried females, married females did not present with increased risk of psychiatric aeromedical evacuation on any diagnosis. Married males, however, were more likely to be evacuated than married females for PTSD (OR = 1.98) and TBI (OR = 1.14). Likewise, married males, compared to nonmarried males, were more likely to be evacuated for PTSD (OR = 1.66) and anxiety (OR = 1.38). Although deployments can be extremely stressful experiences for some military service members, they may be especially so among unmarried females and married males. This study provides a unique contribution to enhancing the understanding of risk factors related to psychiatric aeromedical evacuation for deployed service members.

High rates of incident diabetes and prediabetes are evident in men with treated HIV followed for 11 years.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the long-term incidence of glucose disorders in treated HIV infection, associations with traditional and HIV-specific risk factors. METHODS: Observational cohort of 104 men with treated HIV infection and without diabetes, aged 43 ±â€Š8 years at baseline, with (mean ±â€ŠSD) 11.8 ±â€Š3.5 years follow-up. Ascertainment of glucose status by fasting glucose or, in a subset (n = 33), a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test by 10-12 years follow-up. A subset underwent sequential body composition measures (n = 58) to determine changes in total body and central abdominal adiposity. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of glucose disorders was 48.1% (prediabetes 35.6%, diabetes 12.5%), with an incidence rate of 34.5/1000 years of patient follow-up (PYFU) (prediabetes: 24.3/1000 PYFU; diabetes: 10.2/1000 PYFU). Incident glucose disorders were independently associated with higher age (44.9 ±â€Š8.4 vs. 41.1 ±â€Š7.5 years, P = 0.027), baseline C-peptide (2.9 ±â€Š1.3 vs. 2.4 ±â€Š1.1 ng/ml, P = 0.019) and baseline 2-h glucose (135 ±â€Š41 vs. 95 ±â€Š25 mg/dl, P < 0.001). A prior AIDS-defining illness was independently associated with higher follow-up fasting glucose (108 ±â€Š38 vs. 94 ±â€Š16 mg/dl, P = 0.007). Abdominal fat gain over 2-4 years was associated with a 3.16-fold increased risk of incident glucose disorders (95% CI 1.30-7.68, P = 0.011). In a subgroup who underwent further oral glucose tolerance testing, 60% had a glucose disorder, the majority not detected by fasting glucose. CONCLUSION: Men with long-term treated HIV infection have high rates of incident glucose disorders associated with modest abdominal fat gain. Directed measures to prevent diabetes in this population are warranted.

Efficacy of type-5 phosphodiesterase inhibitors in the drug treatment of premature ejaculation: a systematic review.

This review examines the role of nitric oxide (NO) as a neurotransmitter involved in the central and peripheral control of ejaculation, the methods of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5I) drug treatment studies for premature ejaculation (PE), the adherence of methods to the contemporary consensus of ideal PE drug trial design, the impact of methods on treatment outcomes and the role of PDE5Is in the treatment of PE. NO/cGMP transduction is involved in both the central and peripheral control of emission, but evidence for a direct central or peripheral effect of PDE5Is on ejaculation is speculative. Thirteen of the 14 studies reviewed failed to fulfil the evidence-based medicine criteria for ideal PE drug trial design. Limitations of the studies include inadequately defined study populations, the lack of a double-blind placebo-controlled study design, and the absence of consistent objective physiological measures or sensitive, validated outcome assessment instruments as study endpoints. The broad range of intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) fold-increases reported with PDE5Is, on-demand selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs, and combined PDE5I/on-demand SSRIs is testament to the unreliability of data and conclusions from methodologically flawed studies. The one study that fulfilled the evidence-based medicine criteria of an ideal clinical trial design reported that treatment with sildenafil failed to significantly increase baseline IELT, supporting our conclusion that there is no convincing evidence to support any role for PDE5Is in the treatment of men with lifelong PE and normal erectile function. However, there is limited evidence to support a potential role for PDE5Is alone or combined with daily or on-demand SSRIs in the treatment of acquired PE in men with comorbid erectile dysfunction. Further controlled studies adhering to the contemporary consensus of ideal clinical trial design are required to clarify the role of PDE5Is in this subgroup of men with acquired PE.

New agents in the treatment of premature ejaculation.

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a common male sexual disorder. Recent normative data suggest that men with an intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) of less than 1 minute have "definite" PE, while men with IELTs between 1 and 1.5 minutes have "probable" PE. Although there is insufficient empirical evidence to identify the etiology of PE, there is limited correlational evidence to suggest that men with PE have high levels of sexual anxiety and inherited altered sensitivity of central 5-HT (serotonin) receptors. Pharmacological modulation of the ejaculatory threshold using off-label daily or on-demand selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) offers patients a high likelihood of achieving improved ejaculatory control within a few days of initiating treatment, consequential improvements in sexual desire and other sexual domains and is well tolerated. Investigational drugs such as the ejaculo-selective serotonin transport inhibitors (ESSTIs) such as dapoxetine and UK-390,957 represent a major development in sexual medicine. These drugs offer patients the convenience of on-demand dosing, significant improvements in IELT, ejaculatory control, and sexual satisfaction with minimal adverse effects.

Peyronie's disease: the epidemiology, aetiology and clinical evaluation of deformity.

There is a wide variety of topics covered in this section. The epidemiology, aetiology and clinical evaluation of the deformity in Peyronie's disease is described, followed by a discussion of recent advances in the biology of diabetes-associated bladder complications. Bladder cancer and its molecular prognostic factors are presented, and the section ends with an in-depth presentation of an evidence-based approach to the understanding of the pharmacological class effect in the management of prostatic diseases.