Effect of SC-ICBT for Adults With OCD：A Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Interventions: Other: stepped-care Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy(SC-ICBT); Other: Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT); Drug: conventional medical treatment (TAU)

• Registration Number: NCT05528224
• Lead Sponsor: Shanghai Mental Health Center

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of stepped-care Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (SC-ICBT) compared with Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) and conventional medical treatment (treatment as usual, TAU) in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in China.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

question 1: Whether the efficacy of SC-ICBT is noninferior to CBGT and TAU for OCD?

question 2: Whether SC-ICBT is more cost-effective than CBGT and TAU for OCD?

Participants will receive treatment (SC-ICBT or CBGT or TAU) for 6 weeks.

Prior to the main study, we conduct a non-randomized pilot study to explore the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of SC-ICBT related to CBGT for adults with OCD in China.

Detailed Description

Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) integrates the Internet and cognitive behavioral therapy, which enables patients to participate in different treatment modules online. ICBT has been proved to be an effective way to improve the symptoms of OCD patients with lower cost. Stepped care model (SCM) allows to better balance the efficacy of treatment and the cost of treatment.

In the main study, the investigators plan to develop an intervention pattern of stepped-care Internet-Based cognitive behavioral therapy (SC-ICBT): After individualized assessment（0 week and 3 week separately）, OCD patients will be provided with self-guided ICBT or therapist-guided ICBT through the severity of their symptoms flexibly. This study will be a randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded trial of three groups in OCD: Stepped-care Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (SC-ICBT) combined with medication, Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) combined with medication, and conventional medical treatment (TAU). The study aims to investigate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of SC-ICBT related to CBGT and TAU for adults with OCD in China.

To initially validate the feasibility of SC-ICBT in Chinese patients with OCD, the investigators plan to firstly conduct a small, non-randomized pilot study prior to the main study. In the pilot study, patients assigned to SC-ICBT group will begin with self-guided ICBT, followed by an assessment of their treatment outcomes at week 3, with non-responders being escalated to a higher intensity of treatment, and additional therapist-guided ICBT in the following three weeks.

In the main study, the investigators plan to recruit 114 OCD patients and randomly assigns them to the SC-ICBT group, CBGT group, and TAU group for treatment of 6 weeks and follow-up of 3 months.

While in the pilot study, 46 OCD patients will be recruited and assigned to the SC-ICBT group or CBGT group based on their autonomous will.

Questionnaires, scales, behavior experiments and other experimental materials will be used to evaluate the intervention effect of 6-week SC-ICBT on obsessive and compulsive symptoms, cognitive function and quality of life of OCD patients as well as patients' and therapists' cost.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-08-11
• Study Start: 2022-09-01
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-09-01
• Study First Posted: 2022-09-06
• Status Verified: 2024-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-01-20
• Last Update Posted: 2024-01-23
• Primary Completion: 2025-01-30
• Study Completion: 2025-06-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 114

Inclusion Criteria

1. Age between 18 and 50 years
2. Satisfied with the diagnostic criteria for OCD in DSM-5.
3. 16≤YBOCS score ≤31
4. Taking medication stably for 8 weeks
5. Education level ⩾6 years
6. Has sufficient audiovisual skills to complete the necessary examinations for the study.
7. Right-handed (this criterion is for fMRI subjects only)
8. Subjects and their guardians understood the study and signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Satisfied with the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder in DSM-V other than OCD.
2. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were too severe to participate in the experiment.
3. High risk of suicide.
4. Severe central system or physical disease
5. Pregnant women or women that getting ready for being pregnant and lactating.
6. Other treatments being performed.
7. Uncooperative or unable to complete treatment
8. With metal implants in the body, such as pacemakers, intracranial silver clips, metal dentures, arterial stents, arterial clips, joint metal fixation, or other metal implants, etc. (this criterion is for fMRI subjects only)

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
stepped-care Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy(SC-ICBT) combined with medication	stepped-care Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy(SC-ICBT)	In the main study, after individualized assessment（0 week and 3 week separately）, OCD patients will be provided with self-guided ICBT or therapist-guided ICBT through the severity of their symptoms flexibly while they will continue with the medications they already have. In the pilot study, 23 OCD patients will be assigned to SC-ICBT group based on their autonomous will. They will begin with self-guided ICBT, followed by an assessment of their treatment outcomes at week 3, with non-responders being escalated to a higher intensity of treatment, and additional therapist-guided ICBT in the following three weeks. During the 6-week treatment they will continue with the medications they already have.
stepped-care Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy(SC-ICBT) combined with medication	conventional medical treatment (TAU)	In the main study, after individualized assessment（0 week and 3 week separately）, OCD patients will be provided with self-guided ICBT or therapist-guided ICBT through the severity of their symptoms flexibly while they will continue with the medications they already have. In the pilot study, 23 OCD patients will be assigned to SC-ICBT group based on their autonomous will. They will begin with self-guided ICBT, followed by an assessment of their treatment outcomes at week 3, with non-responders being escalated to a higher intensity of treatment, and additional therapist-guided ICBT in the following three weeks. During the 6-week treatment they will continue with the medications they already have.
conventional medical treatment (TAU)	conventional medical treatment (TAU)	In the main study, OCD patients will be treated as usual. Namely, they will continue with the medications they already have. This group is not present in the pilot study, as both SC-ICBT group and CBGT group combines medications. We suppose that the mere use of SC-ICBT group compared to CBGT group (a commonly used psychotherapy in Chinese clinical practice) is sufficient to draw conclusions about the feasibility of SC-ICBT in in adults with OCD in China. However, in order to further validate the economic benefits of SC-ICBT, we chose to set TAU group in the main study.
Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) combined with medication	Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT)	In the main study, OCD patients will be provided with therapist-guided offline Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy while they will continue with the medications they already have. In the pilot study, 23 OCD patients will be assigned to CBGT group based on their autonomous will. They will receive the same CBGT intervention as in the main study while they will continue with the medications they already have.
Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) combined with medication	conventional medical treatment (TAU)	In the main study, OCD patients will be provided with therapist-guided offline Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy while they will continue with the medications they already have. In the pilot study, 23 OCD patients will be assigned to CBGT group based on their autonomous will. They will receive the same CBGT intervention as in the main study while they will continue with the medications they already have.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change of Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS)	Change from Baseline at 6weeks	YBOCS is compiled by Goodman in the United States and contains 10 items to assess the severity of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior. The scoring method adopts a five-point scale of 0-4 points, and the total score range is 0-40 points, which has good reliability and validity.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change of Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS)	Change from Baseline at 6weeks	The Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) is very similar to the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) from the scale construction to the evaluation method. It is a very simple clinical tool to analyze the subjective anxiety symptoms of patients. It is suitable for adults with anxiety symptoms and has a wide range of application.
Change of Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS)	Change from Baseline at 6weeks	Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) was developed by William W. K. Zung of Duke University Medical School in 1965. It is one of the most widely used self-rating depression scales. It is used to measure the severity of depression and its change in treatment.
Change of Florida Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (FOCI)	Change from Baseline at 6weeks	FOCI, a self-rating scale, is used to assess the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms within one month, which contains 20 items. The first 15 items are evaluated the symptoms by yes and no, and the last 5 items are evaluated the severity of symptoms on 0-4 five-point scale.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Shanghai Mental Health Center; 🇨🇳 Shanghai, Shanghai, China