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WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered by respiratory nurses is associated with reduced anxiety symptoms and is cost-effective for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study recently published in ERJ Open Research<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Karen Heslop-Marshall, Ph.D., from Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, and colleagues randomly assigned 279 patients with COPD and anxiety to CBT or self-help leaflets. The authors measured anxiety, depression, and quality of life at baseline and at three, six, and 12 months.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the group mean change from baseline to three months in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Anxiety Subscale was 3.4 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 2.62 to 4.17) in the CBT group and 1.88 (95 percent CI, 1.19 to 2.55) in the leaflet group (mean difference of 1.52; 95 percent CI, 0.49 to 2.54). At 12 months, the CBT intervention was more cost-effective than leaflets and reduced hospital admissions and attendance at emergency departments.<\/p>\n
“This study shows that a brief CBT intervention, uniquely delivered by respiratory nurses, was clinically effective at reducing anxiety symptoms and was cost-effective,” the authors write. “CBT should be incorporated into routine clinical care pathways.”<\/p>\n
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n