The purpose of this experiment was to conduct a dismantling study of cognitive processing therapy in which the full protocol was compared with its constituent components--cognitive therapy only (CPT-C) and written accounts (WA)--for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid symptoms. The intent-to-treat (ITT) sample included 150 adult women with PTSD who were randomized into 1 of the 3 conditions. Each condition consisted of 2 hr of therapy per week for 6 weeks; blind assessments were conducted before treatment, 2 weeks following the last session, and 6 months following treatment. Measures of PTSD and depression were collected weekly to examine the course of recovery during treatment as well as before and after treatment. Secondary measures assessed anxiety, anger, shame, guilt, and dysfunctional cognitions. Independent ratings of adherence and competence were also conducted. Analyses with the ITT sample and with study completers indicate that patients in all 3 treatments improved substantially on PTSD and depression, the primary measures, and improved on other indices of adjustment. However, there were significant group differences in symptom reduction during the course of treatment whereby the CPT-C condition reported greater improvement in PTSD than the WA condition.

Sixty veterans (54 men, 6 women) with chronic military-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) participated in a wait-list controlled trial of cognitive processing therapy (CPT). The overall dropout rate was 16.6% (20% from CPT, 13% from waiting list). Random regression analyses of the intention-to-treat sample revealed significant improvements in PTSD and comorbid symptoms in the CPT condition compared with the wait-list condition. Forty percent of the intention-to-treat sample receiving CPT did not meet criteria for a PTSD diagnosis, and 50% had a reliable change in their PTSD symptoms at posttreatment assessment. There was no relationship between PTSD disability status and outcomes. This trial provides some of the most encouraging results of PTSD treatment for veterans with chronic PTSD and supports increased use of cognitive- behavioral treatments in this population.

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Our findings suggest that patients and providers have a variety of options for choosing an effective treatment for PTSD. Substantial differences in study design and study participant characteristics make identification of a single best treatment difficult. Not all medications or psychotherapies are effective.

This study assessed the longitudinal association between clinician and patient ratings of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms over the course of 2 different randomized clinical trials of veterans with chronic PTSD. One trial, the Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study 420 (CSP 420; N = 360) compared trauma-focused and present-centered group therapies, and the 2nd trial compared cognitive processing theory and a waitlist control condition (N = 60). Linear mixed effects modeling revealed significant associations between clinician ratings (Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale; CAPS; D. D. Blake et al., 1990) and patient ratings (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist; PCL; F. W. Weathers, B. T. Litz, J. A. Herman, J. A. Huska, & T. M. Keane, 1993) in total and symptom clusters of PTSD. Contrary to hypothesis, the amount of change on the CAPS ranged from .75 to .82 standard deviations for every 1 standard deviation change on the PCL. The CAPS and PCL were more closely associated in the trauma-focused vs. present-centered treatment condition in CSP 420, and especially regarding hyperarousal symptoms. When comparing categorization of clinically significant change on the CAPS and PCL, the authors found no differences in the percentages of agreement between clinicians and patients in improvement and exacerbation. The value of multimodal assessment of PTSD treatment outcomes is discussed.

Among patients who died of cancer, chemotherapy was used frequently in the last 3 months of life. The cancer's responsiveness to chemotherapy does not seem to influence whether dying patients receive chemotherapy at the end of life.

A seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) introduced in the United States in 2000 has been shown to reduce invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in both vaccinated children and adults through induction of herd immunity. We assessed the impact of infant immunization on pneumococcal pneumonia hospitalizations and mortality in all age groups using Health Care Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases (SID) for 1996 to 2006 from 10 states; SID contain 100% samples of ICD9-coded hospitalization data for the selected states. Compared to a 1996–1997 through 1998–1999 baseline, by the 2005–2006 season, both IPD and pneumococcal pneumonia hospitalizations and deaths had decreased substantially in all age groups, including a 47% (95% confidence interval [CI], 38 to 54%) reduction in nonbacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia (ICD9 code 481 with no codes indicating IPD) in infants <2 years old and a 54% reduction (CI, 53 to 56%) in adults ≥65 years of age. A model developed to calculate the total burden of pneumococcal pneumonia prevented by infant PCV7 vaccination in the United States from 2000 to 2006 estimated a reduction of 788,838 (CI, 695,406 to 875,476) hospitalizations for pneumococcal pneumonia. Ninety percent of the reduction in model-attributed pneumococcal pneumonia hospitalizations occurred through herd immunity among adults 18 years old and older; similar proportions were found in pneumococcal disease mortality prevented by the vaccine. In the first seasons after PCV introduction, when there were substantial state differences in coverage among <5-year-olds, states with greater coverage had significantly fewer influenza-associated pneumonia hospitalizations among children, suggesting that PCV7 use also reduces influenza-attributable pneumonia hospitalizations.

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