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Non-cardiac Chest PainIKSITNCT03336112

Internet-delivered CBT for Patients With NCCP

A study testing Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT) and Information program in people with Non-cardiac Chest Pain and Cardiac Anxiety, run by Linkoeping University at 1 site in Sweden.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) is common and has substantial impact on patients' psychological wellbeing, quality of life and healthcare use. Although cardiac diagnosis is 'ruled out', many patients think they have an undetected cardiac disease (i.e. they suffer cardiac anxiety) as no other explanation is offered. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Non-cardiac Chest Pain, Cardiac Anxiety
What is being tested?
Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT) and Information program
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
109 participants
Where
1 siteSweden
Study dates
1 Nov 2017to 31 Jul 2021
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • at least 2 healthcare visits due to NCCP during the last 6 months
  • patients suffering from cardiac anxiety (score ≥ 24 on the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire-CAQ)

Who cannot join

  • language difficulties
  • not able to perform physical activity/exercise due to physical constraints
  • patients with severe depressive symptoms
  • patients with acute ischemic heart disease
  • patients with no access to computer/tablet and/or Internet

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Sweden1 site
  • Linköping University

    Linköping

Other trials in Sweden

About this study

Official title: Internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treatment of Cardiac Anxiety in Patients With Non-cardiac Chest Pain - a Randomized Controlled Study

Non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) is common and has substantial impact on patients' psychological wellbeing, quality of life and healthcare use. Although cardiac diagnosis is 'ruled out', many patients think they have an undetected cardiac disease (i.e. they suffer cardiac anxiety) as no other explanation is offered. They therefore avoid activities that they believe might be harmful to their heart, leading to greater ill-health, and increased healthcare use and societal costs. Targeting cardiac anxiety with psychological interventions might break this vicious circle and improve patient outcomes. Patients need to evaluate the way they perceive and handle their chest pain, which can be done with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of an Internet-delivered CBT (I-CBT) program on psychological distress and other patient-reported outcomes in patients with NCCP. A second aim is to explore factors related to implementation of I-CBT in clinical care. The study has a randomized controlled design comparing I-CBT with Internet-delivered information program. Quantitative methods will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the I-CBT program. Implementation issues will be evaluated from the perspectives of patients, healthcare professionals and policymakers using qualitative methods.

Being tested
Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT), Information program
Keywords
Non-cardiac chest pain, Psychological distress, I-CBT

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT)Behavioural

    The intervention (I-CBT) will consist of 5 weeks of Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy using three main parts. The first is psychoeducation that aims to educate the patients about chest pain and other causes than the cardiac ones. The other part concerns avoidance and exposure. This includes exposing the patients to physical activities that patients perceive as a threat to the heart. The third part contains awareness (mindfulness) training to teach the patients to have contact with the present moment despite chest pain and not trying to avoid it.

  • Information programOther

    Information program delivered by the Internet during 5 weeks.

Study groups in NCT03336112
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Intervention groupExperimental5 weeks guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy program The program consists of psychoeducation, exposure to physical activity, and awareness (mindfulness) training.
Receives: Behavioral: Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT)
Control groupActive comparatorInformation program delivered by the Internet during 5 weeks.
Receives: Other: Information program

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Cardiac anxiety

    Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) will be used before and after the intervention (5 weeks), and 3, 6, 12 months after the end of the intervention to assess changes related to intervention. The CAQ consists of 18 items and a score range between 0 and 72. The higher scores the greater cardiac anxiety.

    Measured: 12 months after end of intervention

Secondary outcomes (6)
  1. Fear of body sensations

    Body Sensations Questionnaire will be used before and after the intervention (5 weeks), and 3, 6, 12 months after the end of the intervention to assess changes related to intervention. The questionnaire comprises 17 items with scores ranging between 17 and 85 and the higher scores the greater fear of body sensations.

    Measured: 12 months after end of intervention

  2. Depressive symptoms

    Patient Health Questionnaire-9 will be used before and after the intervention (5 weeks), and 3, 6, 12 months after the end of the intervention to assess changes related to intervention. This questionnaire comprises 9 items with scores ranging between 0 and 27. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depressive symptoms. A cut-off of 10 demonstrates moderate levels and will be used in this study.

    Measured: 12 months after end of intervention

  3. Health-related quality of life

    EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) will be used before and after the intervention (5 weeks), and 3, 6, 12 months after the end of the intervention to assess changes related to intervention. The EQ-5D includes five dimensions of Health-related quality of life: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Each dimension has five levels corresponding to: no problems, slight problems, moderate problems, severe problems and extreme problems/unable. The questionnaire also includes an EQ-VAS, which is a visual analogue scale ranging from 0 (worst health you can imagine) to 100 (best health you can imagine).

    Measured: 12 months after end of intervention

  4. Chest pain frequency

    Self-developed open questions will be used before and after the intervention (5 weeks), and 3, 6, 12 months after the end of the intervention to assess changes in chest pain related to intervention.

    Measured: 12 months after end of intervention

  5. Healthcare use

    Care Data Warehouse (Register), data will be collected 12 months after the end of the intervention to assess changes related to intervention.

    Measured: 12 months after end of intervention

  6. Societal costs

    Cost per patient register and Social Insurance Office register, data will be collected 12 months after the end of the intervention to assess changes related to intervention.

    Measured: 12 months after end of intervention

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted8 Nov 2017
  2. Study start1 Nov 2017
  3. Primary completion9 Oct 2020
  4. Study completion31 Jul 2021

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
109 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03336112
Sponsor's protocol ID
I-CBT for NCCP
Acronym
IKSIT
Status last verified
Mar 2023
First submitted
25 Oct 2017
Last updated
8 Mar 2023
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Publications

  • Eriksson-Liebon M, Karner Kohler A, Johansson P, Mourad G. Living with non-cardiac chest pain - An inductive qualitative interview study of spouses' perspectives. Nurs Open. 2024 May;11(5):e2189. doi: 10.1002/nop2.2189.

    PubMed 38794988
  • Eriksson-Liebon M, Westas M, Johansson P, Mourad G. Long-term effects and predictors of change of internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy on cardiac anxiety in patients with non-cardiac chest pain: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Mar 19;24(1):216. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-05661-y.

    PubMed 38504157
  • Eriksson-Liebon M, Lundgren J, Rytterstrom P, Johansson P, Mourad G. Experience of internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy among patients with non-cardiac chest pain. J Clin Nurs. 2023 Jul;32(13-14):4060-4069. doi: 10.1111/jocn.16565. Epub 2022 Oct 27.

    PubMed 36303332
  • Mourad G, Eriksson-Liebon M, Karlstrom P, Johansson P. The Effect of Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Versus Psychoeducation Only on Psychological Distress in Patients With Noncardiac Chest Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2022 Jan 28;24(1):e31674. doi: 10.2196/31674.

    PubMed 35089153

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT) and Information program in people with Non-cardiac Chest Pain and Cardiac Anxiety, run by Linkoeping University at 1 site in Sweden.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Mar 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Sweden. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Cardiac anxiety (time frame: 12 months after end of intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03336112, which also lists 4 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 8 Mar 2023.

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