Nancy Lockhart

Double-blind placebo-controlled trial of methylphenidate in the treatment of adult ADHD patients with comorbid cocaine dependence

In this 12-week double-blind placebo-controlled trial of methylphenidate (MTP) versus placebo in 48 cocaine-dependent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) adults, the authors sought to determine whether MTP would be safe, control ADHD symptoms, and affect cocaine use. Efficacy indexes revealed significantly greater ADHD symptom relief in the MTP group. There were no group differences in self-reported cocaine use, urinalysis results, or cocaine craving. Because of the relatively small sample size, the results are preliminary. However, we found that MTP improved subjective reports of ADHD symptoms and did not worsen cocaine use while participants were in treatment.

Computer-delivered screening and brief intervention (e-SBI) for postpartum drug use: A randomized trial☆

Electronic screening and brief intervention (e-SBI) approaches for substance use have shown early promise. This trial was designed to replicate previous findings from a single 20-minute e-SBI for drug use among postpartum women. A total of 143 postpartum, primarily low-income African-American women meeting criteria for drug use, were randomly assigned to either a tailored e-SBI or a time-matched control condition. Blinded follow-up evaluation 3- and 6-months following childbirth revealed strong effects for confirmed illicit drug use abstinence at the 3-month observation (OR=3.3, p=.01), as did hair analysis at 6months (OR=4.8, p=.018). Additional primary outcomes suggested small to moderate effect sizes in favor of the e-SBI, but did not reach significance. This result replicates previous findings but fails to show durable effects. Assessment reactivity, e-SBI design, and possible extension of e-SBI via tailored messaging all merit careful consideration.

Emotional awareness and expression therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and education for fibromyalgia: a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Abstract Patients with fibromyalgia (FM) experience increased lifetime levels of psychosocial adversity, trauma, and emotional conflict. To address these risk factors, we developed emotion awareness and expression therapy (EAET) and tested its benefits against an active control condition, FM education, and the fields gold standard intervention for FM, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for symptom management. Adults with FM (N = 230) formed 40 treatment groups, which were randomized to EAET, CBT, or education and given 8, 90-minute sessions. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up (primary end point). Retention of patients to follow-up was excellent (90.4%). Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that although EAET did not differ from FM education on pain severity (primary outcome), EAET had significantly better outcomes than FM education on overall symptoms, widespread pain, physical functioning, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, depression, positive affect, and life satisfaction (between-condition ds ranging from 0.29-0.45 SD) and the percentage of patients reporting being “very much/much” improved (34.8% vs 15.4%). Emotional awareness and expression therapy did not differ from CBT on the primary or most secondary outcomes, but compared to CBT, EAET led to significantly lower FM symptoms (d = 0.35) and widespread pain (d = 0.37) and a higher percentage of patients achieving 50% pain reduction (22.5% vs 8.3%). In summary, an intervention targeting emotional awareness and expression related to psychosocial adversity and conflict was well received, more effective than a basic educational intervention, and had some advantages over CBT on pain. We conclude that EAET should be considered as an additional treatment option for FM.

Emotional awareness and expression training improves irritable bowel syndrome: A randomized controlled trial

Current clinical guidelines identify several psychological treatments for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS patients, however, have elevated trauma, life stress, relationship conflicts, and emotional avoidance, which few therapies directly target. We tested the effects of emotional awareness and expression training (EAET) compared to an evidence‐based comparison condition—relaxation training—and a waitlist control condition.

A randomised trial of a computer‐delivered screening and brief intervention for postpartum alcohol use

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Most women cut down or quit alcohol use during pregnancy, but return to pre-pregnancy levels of use after giving birth. Universal screening and brief intervention for alcohol use has shown promise, but has proven challenging to implement and has rarely been evaluated with postpartum women. This trial evaluated a single 20-min, electronic screening and brief intervention (e-SBI) for alcohol use among postpartum women. DESIGN AND METHODS In this parallel group randomised trial, 123 postpartum, low-income, primarily African-American women meeting criteria for unhealthy alcohol use were randomly assigned to either a tailored e-SBI (n = 61) or a time-matched control condition (n = 62), with follow-up at 3 and 6 months. Hypotheses predicted that 7-day point-prevalence abstinence and drinking days would favour the e-SBI condition. RESULTS No group differences were significant. Blinded follow-up evaluation revealed 7-day point prevalence of 75% for the e-SBI condition versus 82% for control at 3 months (odds ratio = 1.6) and 72% versus 73%, respectively, at 6 months. Drinking days in the past 90 and mean number of drinks per week also showed no significant differences. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS This pilot trial failed to support a single-session e-SBI for alcohol use among postpartum women, although findings at the 3-month time point suggested that greater power might confirm transient effects of the e-SBI. As efficacy is likely to vary with e-SBI content and approach, future research should leverage technologys reproducibility and modularity to isolate key components. [Ondersma SJ, Svikis DS, Thacker LR, Beatty JR, Lockhart N. A randomised trial of a computer-delivered screening and brief intervention for postpartum alcohol use. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:710-718].