Predictors associated with improved cognitive-behavioral therapy outcome in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of treatment response in a large sample of pediatric participants with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The Nordic Long-term Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) Treatment Study (NordLOTS) included 269 children and adolescents, 7 to 17 years of age, with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD. Outcomes were evaluated after 14 weekly sessions of exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). METHOD: The association of 20 potential predictors, identified by literature review, along with their outcomes, was evaluated using the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) posttreatment. A CY-BOCS total score of ≤15 was the primary outcome measure. RESULTS: The univariate analyses showed that children and adolescents who were older had more severe OCD, greater functional impairment, higher rates of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and higher levels of anxiety and depression symptoms before treatment had significantly poorer outcomes after 14 weeks of treatment. However, only age was a significant predictor in the multivariate model. CONCLUSION: In the multivariate analysis, only age predicted better treatment outcome. Using univariate analysis, a variety of predictors of poorer treatment outcome after CBT was identified. The high impact of comorbid symptoms on outcome in pediatric OCD suggests that treatment should address comorbidity issues. The lack of a family predictor may be related to high family involvement in this study. Future research strategies should focus on optimizing intervention in the presence of these characteristics to achieve greater benefits for patients with OCD. Clinical trial registration information-Nordic Long-term Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) Treatment Study; www.controlled-trials.com; ISRCTN66385119.

Effectiveness of cognitive behavior treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: acute outcomes from the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study (NordLOTS).

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effectiveness of manualized exposure-based CBT with a family-based treatment, as an initial treatment for pediatric OCD delivered in regular community child and adolescents outpatient clinics. The report summarizes outcome of the first treatment step in the NordLOTS, which was conducted in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. METHOD: 269 participants, age 7-17, with OCD, received treatment for 14 weekly sessions. Treatment response was defined as CY-BOCS score of ≤15 at post treatment. RESULTS: 241 participants (89.6%) completed all 14 weeks of treatment. Treatment response among the completers was 72.6% (95% CI 66.7%-77.9%). Mixed effects model revealed a statistically significant effect of time F(1,479) = 130.434. Mean symptom reduction on the CY-BOCS was 52.9% (SD = 30.9). The estimated within-group effect size between baseline and post treatment was 1.58 (95% CI: 1.37-1.80). CONCLUSION: This study found that manualized CBT can be applied effectively in community mental health clinics. These findings underscore the feasibility of implementing exposure-based CBT for pediatric OCD in a regular child and adolescent mental health setting. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION INFORMATION: This study was registered in Current Controlled Trials; Nordic Long-term Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Treatment Study (www.controlled-trials.com ISRCTN66385119).