CLINICIAN'S TRAUMA UPDATE-Online
Issue 8(3), June 2014
For COMPLETE summaries, see this month's CTU-Online (PDF) posted on www.ptsd.va.gov.
Special Notice
A new meta-analysis of PTSD treatments
A novel statistical approach, network meta-analysis, allows direct head-to-head comparisons pooled from existing studies. Using this method, a Swiss research team found no differences between specific treatments for PTSD, but did find that specific treatments outperformed nonspecific treatments. Read more…
Assessment
Making the switch to DSM-5
PTSD diagnostic criteria were revised for the DSM-5, representing an important new phase in the evolution of how we define PTSD. As clinicians and researchers transition to DSM-5, questions remain about how these new criteria will impact the field. Four recent articles investigate the implications of DSM-5 on the construct, prevalence, and assessment of PTSD. Read more…
The strengths—and weaknesses—of VA administrative data on PTSD
The analysis of VA administrative data offers valuable information about VA’s healthcare system. However, the information is not collected in the same standardized way that research data are collected—which makes the results of a new study on the validity of PTSD diagnoses in VA data especially informative. Read more…
Emerging support for the use of telehealth technology in PTSD assessment
A growing body of research shows that psychotherapy for PTSD delivered via telehealth is as effective as face-to-face therapy (see Morland et al., 2014, in this issue). But before PTSD treatment can begin, patients must be accurately diagnosed. Investigators from the Boston VA and the National Center for PTSD examined whether telehealth technology can also be used to assess PTSD—and whether patients are comfortable with this type of evaluation. Read more…
Identifying Veterans with an elevated risk of violence
A measure to assess modifiable risk factors for violence in Veterans could help clinicians identify Veterans who might benefit from further assessment and intervention. Investigators from the Durham VA Medical Center report promising findings on just such a measure. Read more…
Treatment
Exposure therapy online
Clinicians may wonder how well imaginal and in vivo exposure work if delivered online, or may have concerns about the safety of online delivery. Investigators from Australia’s Macquarie University sought to answer these questions by comparing an online trauma-focused intervention with and without exposure components. Read more…
Testing a novel biological pathway for PTSD treatment
Available first-line medications for PTSD involve the serotonin and norepinephrine systems. Glutamate is another transmitter thought to contribute to the stress response and pathophysiology of PTSD. Investigators from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report on a trial of ketamine, a glutamate antagonist that has been used for anesthesia and as a treatment for chronic depression. Feasibility and short-term efficacy findings are promising. Read more…
Study investigates effectiveness of CPT-C delivered via videoconferencing
Investigators from the National Center for PTSD previously demonstrated that videoconferencing is as effective as in-person delivery of an anger management intervention for PTSD. Recently, this research team set out to answer a new question: Are in-person delivery and videoconferencing equally effective for trauma-focused PTSD treatments? Read more…
A brief alcohol intervention, with and without the provider
Alcohol misuse among Veterans is often first identified in primary care, yet providers in this setting have limited time to deliver substance use interventions. A trial by investigators from the Memphis VA suggests that provider involvement may not be necessary for delivering a PTSD-informed single-session alcohol intervention. Read more…
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CTU-Online, the Clinician's Trauma Update, is an electronic newsletter
produced by the National Center for PTSD, Department of Veterans Affairs.
CTU-Online provides summaries of clinically relevant publications in the trauma
field with links to published abstracts or full text articles when available.
Please send any feedback to barbara.hermann@va.gov.
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