Researchers at the University of Manchester, in the UK, studied the clinical impact of telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exercise alone vs both for patients with chronic widespread pain.
First, the details.
- 442 patients with chronic widespread pain were randomly assigned to a treatment group for 6 months.
- Telephone-delivered CBT
- Graded exercise
- Telephone-delivered CBT + exercise
- Treatment as usual
- A 7-point patient global assessment scale of change in health since study enrollment (range: very much worse to very much better) was used to assess the patients at baseline, at the end of the study, and 9 months after starting the study.
- A positive outcome was defined as “much better” or “very much better.”
And, the results.
- Positive outcomes at 6 and 9 months, respectively, were recorded for the following.
- Treatment as usual group, 8% and 8%
- Telephone-delivered CBT groups, 30% and 33%
- Exercise group, 35% and 24%
- Telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy + exercise, 37% and 37% (all treatments were significantly better than the start of the study)
- At 6 and 9 months, telephone-delivered CBT + exercise was associated with improvements in the 36-Item Short Form Health Questionnaire physical component score and a reduction in passive coping strategies.
The bottom line?
The authors concluded, “Telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy was associated with substantial, statistically significant, and sustained improvements in patient global assessment.”
It’s all about the follow-up.
11/27/11 21:16 JR