Adults with Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder, and Opioid Use Disorder: The Effectiveness of Modified Prolonged Exposure

The effect of combat deployments on veteran opioid abuse

Grim national statistics about the U.S. opioid crisis are increasingly well known to the American public. Far less well known is that U.S. servicemembers are at ground zero of the epidemic, with veterans facing an overdose death rate of up to twice that of civilians. Exploiting a quasi-experiment in overseas deployment assignment, this study estimates the causal impact of combat exposure among the deployed in the Global War on Terrorism on opioid abuse. We find that exposure to war theater substantially increased the risk of prescription painkiller abuse and illicit heroin use among active duty servicemen. The magnitudes of our estimates imply lower-bound combat exposure-induced healthcare costs of $1.04 billion per year for prescription painkiller abuse and $470 million per year for heroin use.

The lived experiences and treatment needs of women with opioid use disorder and posttraumatic stress symptoms: A mixed methods study

INTRODUCTION

Women show a gender-specific risk for co-occurring opioid use disorder (OUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Expert groups have called for the development of integrated treatments for women with OUD/PTSD, but there remains limited information on such interventions.

METHODS

This mixed-methods study interviewed and surveyed 10 women with current or past OUD and co-occurring posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and 16 providers who work with these women. Interviews and surveys queried patient participants' and providers' experiences of OUD/PTSS and how to best design an integrated, trauma-focused treatment for OUD/PTSD.

RESULTS

Patient participants (90 % white, 90 % mothers, Mage = 45.70) met criteria for severe, lifetime OUD and 40 % met a provisional diagnosis for PTSD. Four themes emerged for participants' experiences of OUD/PTSS: 1) numerous stressors; 2) shame; 3) multiple motivations to use opioids; and 4) a cycle of trauma and opioid use. Four themes emerged regarding patient participants' perceptions on the development of an OUD/PTSD treatment: 1) mixed attitudes towards medications for OUD; 2) barriers to treatment (e.g., insufficient treatments and contextual factors); 3) treatment facilitators (e.g., social support); and 4) preferences in treatment (e.g., trauma-focused, gender-focused, family content, ambivalence around group therapy). Providers (Mage = 38.94) were primarily white women (76.5 %). Two themes emerged from their experiences working with women with OUD/PTSS: 1) perceiving women to use opioids to regulate emotions and 2) gender differences in trauma types. Three themes emerged for providers' perceptions on the development of an OUD/PTSD treatment: 1) barriers to treatment (e.g., chaotic lives, contextual factors, family); 2) treatment facilitators (e.g., trust and external motivations); and 3) desired treatment modifications (e.g., stabilization, early skills in therapy, flexibility in therapy, social supports, safety guidelines, and assistance in identifying an index trauma). Most participants (90.0 %) and providers (93.5 %) preferred working on OUD/PTSD symptoms simultaneously rather than separately.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings demonstrate the need to modify integrated treatments to meet the preferences of providers and women with OUD/PTSS and OUD/PTSD. Treatments should consider therapeutic content, structure, contextual factors, social support, and PTSD severity to enhance uptake and reach.

The Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder: Synopsis of the 2023 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline

DESCRIPTION

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) worked together to revise the 2017 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder. This article summarizes the 2023 clinical practice guideline (CPG) and its development process, focusing on assessments and treatments for which evidence was sufficient to support a recommendation for or against.

METHODS

Subject experts from both departments developed 12 key questions and reviewed the published literature after a systematic search using the PICOTS (population, intervention, comparator, outcomes, timing of outcomes measurement, and setting) method. The evidence was then evaluated using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) method. Recommendations were made after consensus was reached; they were based on quality and strength of evidence and informed by other factors, including feasibility and patient perspectives. Once the draft was peer reviewed by an external group of experts and their inputs were incorporated, the final document was completed.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The revised CPG includes 34 recommendations in the following 5 topic areas: assessment and diagnosis, prevention, treatment, treatment of nightmares, and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with co-occurring conditions. Six recommendations on PTSD treatment were rated as strong. The CPG recommends use of specific manualized psychotherapies over pharmacotherapy; prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing psychotherapy; paroxetine, sertraline, or venlafaxine; and secure video teleconferencing to deliver recommended psychotherapy when that therapy has been validated for use with video teleconferencing or when other options are unavailable. The CPG also recommends against use of benzodiazepines, cannabis, or cannabis-derived products. Providers are encouraged to use this guideline to support evidence-based, patient-centered care and shared decision making to optimize individuals' health outcomes and quality of life.

Prediction of adverse events risk in patients with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder using electronic medical records by deep learning models

BACKGROUND

Identifying co-occurring mental disorders and elevated risk is vital for optimization of healthcare processes. In this study, we will use DeepBiomarker2, an updated version of our deep learning model to predict the adverse events among patients with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD), a high-risk population.

METHODS

We analyzed electronic medical records of 5565 patients from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to predict adverse events (opioid use disorder, suicide related events, depression, and death) within 3 months at any encounter after the diagnosis of PTSD+AUD by using DeepBiomarker2. We integrated multimodal information including: lab tests, medications, co-morbidities, individual and neighborhood level social determinants of health (SDoH), psychotherapy and veteran data.

RESULTS

DeepBiomarker2 achieved an area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC) of 0.94 on the prediction of adverse events among those PTSD+AUD patients. Medications such as vilazodone, dronabinol, tenofovir, suvorexant, modafinil, and lamivudine showed potential for risk reduction. SDoH parameters such as cognitive behavioral therapy and trauma focused psychotherapy lowered risk while active veteran status, income segregation, limited access to parks and greenery, low Gini index, limited English-speaking capacity, and younger patients increased risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Our improved version of DeepBiomarker2 demonstrated its capability of predicting multiple adverse event risk with high accuracy and identifying potential risk and beneficial factors.

Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A State-of-the-art Review

This narrative state-of-the-art review paper describes the progress in the understanding and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Over the last four decades, the scientific landscape has matured, with many interdisciplinary contributions to understanding its diagnosis, etiology, and epidemiology. Advances in genetics, neurobiology, stress pathophysiology, and brain imaging have made it apparent that chronic PTSD is a systemic disorder with high allostatic load. The current state of PTSD treatment includes a wide variety of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches, of which many are evidence-based. However, the myriad challenges inherent in the disorder, such as individual and systemic barriers to good treatment outcome, comorbidity, emotional dysregulation, suicidality, dissociation, substance use, and trauma-related guilt and shame, often render treatment response suboptimal. These challenges are discussed as drivers for emerging novel treatment approaches, including early interventions in the Golden Hours, pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions, medication augmentation interventions, the use of psychedelics, as well as interventions targeting the brain and nervous system. All of this aims to improve symptom relief and clinical outcomes. Finally, a phase orientation to treatment is recognized as a tool to strategize treatment of the disorder, and position interventions in step with the progression of the pathophysiology. Revisions to guidelines and systems of care will be needed to incorporate innovative treatments as evidence emerges and they become mainstream. This generation is well-positioned to address the devastating and often chronic disabling impact of traumatic stress events through holistic, cutting-edge clinical efforts and interdisciplinary research.

Prediction of Adverse Events Risk in Patients with Comorbid Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder Using Electronic Medical Records by Deep Learning Models

Background

Prediction of high-risk events in mental disorder patients is crucial. In our previous study, we developed a deep learning model: DeepBiomarker by using electronic medical records (EMR) to predict suicide related event (SRE) risk in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients.

Methods

We applied DeepBiomarker2 through data integration of multimodal information: lab test, medication, co-morbidities, and social determinants of health. We analyzed EMRs of 5,565 patients from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with a diagnosis of PTSD and alcohol use disorder (AUD) on risk of developing an adverse event (opioid use disorder, SREs, depression and death).

Results

DeepBiomarker2 predicted whether a PTSD + AUD patient will have a diagnosis of any adverse events (SREs, opioid use disorder, depression, death) within 3 months with area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC) of 0.94. We found piroxicam, vilazodone, dronabinol, tenofovir, suvorexant, empagliflozin, famciclovir, veramyst, amantadine, sulfasalazine, and lamivudine to have potential to reduce risk.

Conclusions

DeepBiomarker2 can predict multiple adverse event risk with high accuracy and identify potential risk and beneficial factors. Our results offer suggestions for personalized interventions in a variety of clinical and diverse populations.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD in Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder: A Randomized Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE

Nearly all individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) report lifetime trauma exposure and one-third meet diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although prolonged exposure (PE) therapy is a first-line treatment for PTSD, little is known about the effects of PE in individuals with co-occurring OUD. Furthermore, its efficacy is commonly undermined by poor therapy attendance. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility and initial efficacy of a novel PE protocol for improving PE attendance and PTSD symptoms among buprenorphine- or methadone-maintained adults with PTSD.

METHOD

Thirty participants with co-occurring PTSD and OUD were randomized to receive either: (a) continued medications for OUD (MOUD) treatment as usual (TAU), (b) Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE), or (c) PE with financial incentives delivered contingent upon PE session attendance (PE+). Primary outcomes included PE session attendance, PTSD symptom severity, and use of opioids other than prescribed MOUD.

RESULTS

PE+ participants attended significantly more therapy sessions vs. PE (87% vs. 35%; p <.0001). PTSD symptom reductions were also significantly greater in the PE+ vs. TAU group (p =.046). Participants in the two PE conditions submitted significantly fewer urine samples that tested positive for opioids than TAU participants (0% vs. 22%; p =.007).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide preliminary support for the efficacy of PE+ for improving PE attendance and PTSD symptoms without prompting opioid relapse in individuals with co-occurring PTSD and OUD. These promising results justify a larger scale randomized clinical trial to more rigorously evaluate this novel treatment approach.

Patient-reported sleep outcomes in randomized-controlled trials in persons with substance use disorders: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Sleep disturbances and disorders are a common and sometimes recalcitrant problem in persons recovering from substance use disorders (SUDs). As such, several randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted to address sleep disturbances in a variety of SUD subpopulations and clinical scenarios. The goal of this systematic review was to collate patient-reported sleep outcomes used in past SUD-related RCTs to provide guidance for future sleep research in persons with SUDs.

METHODS

This systematic review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on May 7th, 2020 (CRD42020182004). Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed manuscripts describing RCTs in an SUD population.

RESULTS

The initial search yielded 13,403 candidate articles, and 76 met a priori criteria and were included in this review. Thirty-five (46.1%) assessed sleep as a primary outcome (i.e., sleep improvement was the primary goal of the research) and 41 (53.9%) assessed sleep as a secondary outcome (i.e., sleep improvement was an important outcome, but not the primary outcome). The most commonly used measures included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Insomnia Severity Index, and sleep diaries. However, multiple additional sleep assessments were also used, including visual analogue and Likert scales.

CONCLUSIONS

The field of addiction medicine would benefit from a streamlined approach in assessing patient-reported sleep in RCTs, including commonly used and validated assessments of sleep quality, inserting daily or repeated measures into RCTs, and including questionnaires that assess clinically relevant insomnia or other sleep disorders.

Treatment outcomes in individuals diagnosed with comorbid opioid use disorder and Posttraumatic stress disorder: A review

OBJECTIVES

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a public health emergency. Evidence suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among individuals with OUD; however, few studies evaluate whether concurrent diagnoses affect treatment outcomes. This review examines the impact of concurrent diagnoses of OUD and PTSD on treatment outcomes.

METHODS

A search was performed using articles identified through June 30, 2020 in PubMed, PsycINFO, and EMBASE. Included peer-reviewed articles evaluated individuals with OUD and a PTSD diagnosis via standardized assessment and/or medical record diagnoses, and reported relationships between diagnosis and treatment outcomes and/or other psychiatric conditions.

RESULTS

Out of 412 articles, 17 studies met inclusion criteria for this review (from 13 databases). Articles included had a total of n = 2190 with OUD, with n = 79 non-OUD comparison participants. Studies examining individuals with OUD revealed comorbid PTSD was associated with more severe addiction, higher rates of depression, attempted suicide, and psychosocial problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Among individuals with OUD, presence of PTSD is associated with multiple mental health problems. The impact of PTSD on drug use is inconclusive. Although only 5 studies examined psychosocial PTSD treatment, all found PTSD-focused treatment to be effective for those with comorbid OUD. Overall, results suggest the need to better identify PTSD among those with OUD, and to develop and evaluate interventions that are brief, integrative, and easy to implement in clinical settings.

PTSD / substance use disorder comorbidity: Treatment options and public health needs

Purpose of Review

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly co-occurs with substance use disorder (SUD) and is challenging to treat. We review all behavioral therapy models with at least one randomized controlled trial in a current PTSD/SUD population. We identify factors in selecting a model for clinical use, emphasizing a public health framework that balances the need for evidence with the need for feasibility in frontline settings.

Recent Findings

Seven published models and 6 unpublished models are reviewed. Public health considerations for choosing a model include: whether it's been studied across a broad range of SUDs and in complex SUD patients; whether it can be conducted in group modality; its appeal to patients and providers; its cost; workforce requirements; and its ability to reduce substance use in addition to PTSD.

Summary

There are two broad types of models: those that originated in the PTSD field versus the SUD field. Overall, the latter are stronger on public health factors and more feasible in SUD settings. Published models in this category include Relapse Prevention, BRENDA, and Seeking Safety. PTSD/SUD research is at an early stage and there is a need for methodology that quantifies "level of burden" (patients' socioeconomic disadvantages) across trials.

Polydrug use disorders in individuals with opioid use disorder

BACKGROUND

Understanding the association of polydrug use disorders (PUD) with psychosocial and clinical factors is essential for the treatment of individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). The aim of this study is to examine whether there is an association between childhood maltreatment, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PUD in individuals with OUD.

METHODS

We used data from 356 individuals with OUD in the past 12 months from a nationally representative database in the United States. PUD patients were classified into two groups: a group with additional one substance disorder (OUD + 1) and that with two or more additional substance disorders (OUD + 2). We conducted multivariate logistic regression to predict the PUD status, after adjustment for confounders including childhood maltreatment.

RESULTS

Among all individuals, 57.3% were polydrug users (n = 204) and 42.7% were not (n = 152). There was a high prevalence of childhood maltreatment in both groups, ranging from 16.1% to 59.5%, but the difference was not statistically significant. After adjustment for confounders, we found an association between past-year PTSD and OUD + 2 (odds ratio: 3.98; 95% confidence interval: 1.15-13.72; p = 0.03) but not with OUD + 1.

CONCLUSION

PTSD is highly prevalent in individuals with OUD using multiple substances and could influence PUD. We recommend screening for PTSD in cases of PUD. Future studies should evaluate the effect of PTSD treatment on PUD.

Concurrent treatment of substance use disorders and PTSD using prolonged exposure: A randomized clinical trial in military veterans

OBJECTIVE

A substantial amount of individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) also meet criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prolonged Exposure (PE) is an effective, evidence-based treatment for PTSD, but there is limited data on its use among individuals with current alcohol or drug use disorders. This study evaluated the efficacy of an integrated treatment that incorporates PE (Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure or COPE) among veterans.

METHOD

Military veterans (N = 81, 90.1% male) with current SUD and PTSD were randomized to 12 sessions of COPE or Relapse Prevention (RP). Primary outcomes included the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), PTSD Checklist-Military version (PCL-M), and the Timeline Follow-back (TLFB).

RESULTS

On average, participants attended 8 out of 12 sessions and there were no group differences in retention. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed that COPE, in comparison to RP, resulted in significantly greater reductions in CAPS (d = 1.4, p < .001) and PCL-M scores (d = 1.3, p = .01), as well as higher rates of PTSD diagnostic remission (OR = 5.3, p < .01). Both groups evidenced significant and comparable reductions in SUD severity during treatment. At 6-months follow-up, participants in COPE evidenced significantly fewer drinks per drinking day than participants in RP (p = .05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to report on the use of an integrated, exposure-based treatment for co-occurring SUD and PTSD in a veteran sample. The findings demonstrate that integrated, exposure-based treatments are feasible and effective for military veterans with SUD and PTSD. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.