Publications by authors named "P P Mersch"
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of three empirically supported treatments for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), pharmacotherapy using a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), or the combination of both (CBT+SSRI).
Method: Cost-effectiveness was examined based on the data from a multicenter randomized controlled trial. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale was selected as a primary health outcome measure.
Rate of improvement during and across three treatments for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia: cognitive behavioral therapy, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or both combined.
J Affect Disord
September 2013
Background: Existing literature on panic disorder (PD) yields no data regarding the differential rates of improvement during Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) or both combined (CBT+SSRI).
Method: Patients were randomized to CBT, SSRI or CBT+SSRI which each lasted one year including three months of medication taper. Participating patients kept record of the frequency of panic attacks throughout the full year of treatment.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to assess the long-term effectiveness of three treatments for panic disorder: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) pharmacotherapy, and a combination of both.
- During the one-year treatment, significant improvements in anxiety levels, coping abilities, and overall health-related quality of life were reported across all treatment groups.
- Although CBT + SSRI showed some initial superiority in patient satisfaction, all treatment methods maintained their benefits over time, with no significant differences in effectiveness at follow-up assessments.
Objectives: To assess the association between mood state and the prevalence and the severity of lithium adverse drug reactions (ADRs).
Methods: A 26-year follow-up study was conducted among patients > or =18 years treated at the outpatient lithium clinic of the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands, between November 1973 and December 2000. At each monthly scheduled visit, patients were questioned by a research nurse in a standardized manner about the presence and the severity of nine specific ADRs that frequently occur as a consequence of lithium treatment and that can be identified by the patients themselves.
Objective: To establish whether the combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy (SSRI) was more effective in treating panic disorder (PD) than either CBT or SSRI alone, and to evaluate any differential effects between the mono-treatments.
Method: Patients with PD (n = 150) with or without agoraphobia received CBT, SSRI or CBT + SSRI. Outcome was assessed after 9 months, before medication taper.