RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Comparative efficacy and acceptability of psychotherapies for post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents: study protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis
JF BMJ Open
JO BMJ Open
FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group
SP e020198
DO 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020198
VO 8
IS 3
A1 Zhang, Yuqing
A1 Zhou, Xinyu
A1 Yang, Lining
A1 Hetrick, Sarah E
A1 Weisz, John R
A1 Cuijpers, Pim
A1 Barth, Jürgen
A1 Del Giovane, Cinzia
A1 Yuan, Shuai
A1 Cohen, David
A1 Gillies, Donna
A1 Jiang, Xiaofeng
A1 Teng, Teng
A1 Xie, Peng
YR 2018
UL http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/3/e020198.abstract
AB Introduction Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among children and adolescents who are exposed to trauma, and it is often associated with significant negative impacts on their psychosocial functioning and quality of life. Many types of psychotherapies have been found to be effective for PTSD in children and adolescents. However, due to the lack of direct comparisons between different psychotherapies, the hierarchy of treatment efficacy is still unclear. Therefore, we plan to conduct a systematic review and network meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of various types of psychotherapies for PTSD in children and adolescents.Methods and analysis A systematic search will be conducted among eight electronic databases, including PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS) and ProQuest Dissertations, from inception to October 2017. Randomised controlled trials, regardless of language, publication year and publication type, comparing any psychotherapies for PTSD to any control condition or alternative treatment in children and adolescents (18 years old or less) diagnosed with full or subclinical PTSD will be included. Study duration and the number of treatment sessions will not be limited. The primary outcome will be PTSD symptom severity at post-treatment as measured by a rating scale reported by the child, parent or a clinician. The secondary outcomes will include: (1) efficacy at follow-up; (2) acceptability (all-cause discontinuation); (3) anxiety symptom severity; (4) depressive symptom severity and (5) quality of life and functional improvement. Bayesian network meta-analyses for all relative outcome measures will be performed. We will conduct subgroup and sensitivity network meta-analyses to determine whether the findings are affected by study characteristics. The quality of the evidence contributing to network estimates of the primary outcome will be evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations framework.Ethics and dissemination No ethical issues are foreseen. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, which will be disseminated electronically and in print. This network meta-analysis may be updated to inform and guide the clinical management of PTSD in children and adolescents.PROSPERO registration number CRD42016051786.