A Trial of Sertraline vs. CBT for End-stage Renal Disease Patients With Depression {ASCEND}

NCT02358343 | Completed Phase 3 Results DMC

• 1 other identifier: 48647
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 184
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

Patients whose kidneys fail generally require dialysis treatments to sustain life. The ability of patients to make major adjustments in their lives for dialysis is hampered by depression that affects almost one-quarter of such individuals. There are no studies that have adequately tested whether treatment of depression is effective in dialysis patients and if there is any difference between the response to the two most commonly available forms of treatment, psychotherapy and anti-depressant drug therapy. To fill this important gap in the investigators knowledge, the investigators propose to undertake (1) a randomized controlled clinical trial of 200 patients to test whether an engagement interview will result in a higher proportion of dialysis patients accepting treatment for depression; and (2) a randomized controlled clinical trial of 120 patients to determine whether there is any difference in the likelihood of improvement of depressive symptoms with psychotherapy or drug therapy among dialysis patients with depression. Patients in these studies will be enrolled from among individuals receiving care in 50 dialysis facilities in three metropolitan areas - Seattle, Dallas, and Albuquerque. The research proposal has been developed with the support of patients, caregivers, and stakeholders to ensure that the findings from the study are relevant to them and can be readily implemented in day-to-day clinical practice. Hence, the engagement interview and psychotherapy will be delivered in a dialysis facility to ease the burden on patients, and the dose of the study drug will be changed in partnership with the study participants. In addition to depressive symptoms, the effect of treatment on other meaningful outcomes such as fatigue and sleep will be determined. The two forms of treatment for depression being tested in this clinical trial are very different from each other and patients differ with regards to the treatment option preferable and/or available to them. Successful completion of the clinical trial will provide patients, caregivers, and other stakeholders with the information that they would need when faced with a diagnosis of depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis. This will allow patients to select evidence-based treatments to improve outcomes that are relevant to them.

Conditions

Depression; End Stage Renal Disease

Keywords

Comorbid Depression; Major Depressive Disorder; Dysthymia; Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT); Sertraline; Engagement Interview; End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD); Hemodialysis

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Number of Participants Who Initiated Depression Treatment

  The primary measure of efficacy of the Engagement Interview will be the number of patients undergoing hemodialysis with co-morbid depression who initiate treatment for the condition. This will be defined as one of the following: * Completing at least one psychotherapy session either as a part of the clinical trial or in the community within four weeks of establishing a diagnosis of major depression and/or dysthymia. * Receiving a supply of anti-depressant drug either as a part of the clinical trial or the treating physician within four weeks of establishing a diagnosis of major depression and/or dysthymia.

  within four weeks of engagement interview or control visit

• QIDS-C Score

  The Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Clinician-rated (QIDS-C) scale ranges from 0-27, higher scores indicate worse depression. The primary measure of efficacy of Intervention will be the mean difference in QIDS-C score at Week 12 between treatment groups.

  Week 12 of treatment

Secondary Outcomes (13)

• Number of Participants Who Accepted Depression Treatment

  within two weeks of engagement interview or control visit

• BDI-II

  Week 12

• GAD-7

  Week 12

• Sheehan Disability Scale

  Week 12

• SF-36 Energy/Vitality

  Week 12

Study Arms (5)

Engagement Interview

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Subjects will be randomly assigned to engagement interview or a control visit.Trained CBT therapists at each of the three sites will conduct the engagement interview. The session will be aimed at improving the acceptance of the diagnosis of depression by patients and treatment for the same.

Behavioral: Engagement Interview

Control Visit

NO INTERVENTION

Subjects will be randomly assigned to engagement interview or a control visit. Individuals assigned to control visit will be scheduled for a follow-up discussion with a member of the research team. During this session, they will be informed of the diagnosis of major depression or dysthymia, the options for treatment available through the clinical trial, and alternatives should they decline participation in the clinical trial.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The subjects will be randomly assigned to individual CBT or sertraline drug therapy using block randomization. Individuals will undergo 10 CBT sessions of 60 minutes each, by a trained therapist in the dialysis facility (8 weekly sessions; then every other week x 2). The CBT will be administered while the patient is undergoing HD; however, alternative arrangements will be made upon individual patient's preferences.

Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Antidepressant Drug Therapy

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The subjects will be randomly assigned to individual CBT or sertraline drug therapy using block randomization. Anti-Depressant Drug Therapy will be delivered with sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and the dose will be titrated using the Measurement Based Care Protocol.

Drug: Antidepressant Drug Therapy

Observational Cohort

NO INTERVENTION

Subjects who (1) are not willing to participate in the clinical trial and (2) do not find any treatment acceptable outside the clinical trial will be invited to participate in the prospective observational cohort for serial assessment of depressive symptoms.These subjects will only undergo assessment of severity of depressive symptoms at weeks 0, 6, and 12 using QIDS-C.

Interventions

Engagement Interview BEHAVIORAL

An Engagement Interview will comprise a one-on-one session with the patient, during which the health-care provider will use reflective statements and non-judgmental listening techniques, will explore barriers to treatment, and will help patient articulate ambivalence about engaging in treatment. This session will be enhanced with a 40-minute DVD that the subject will watch with the therapist in the dialysis facility. The subject will be encouraged to take the DVD home with them and watch it with their family members as well.

Engagement Interview

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a short-term psychotherapy that will focus on how the individual is thinking, behaving, and communicating today rather than on their childhood experience. The therapist will assist the patient in identifying specific distortions (cognitive assessment) and biases in thinking and will provide guidance on how to change this thinking. During the course of intervention, study subjects will undergo assessment of severity of depressive symptoms using Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms - Self-Report (QIDS-SR) every two weeks for the first six weeks (weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6) and every three weeks for the next six weeks (weeks 9 and 12).

Also known as: CBT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Antidepressant Drug Therapy DRUG

The site investigators will prescribe sertraline drug at a starting dose of 25 mg oral tablets. Dose titration will be implemented using standardized assessments of depressive symptoms and drug side effects; and the research team and the patient make joint decisions to maintain, increase, or decrease the dose. This will help establish the highest effective but tolerable dose tailored for each patient. The QIDS-SR scale will be used to assess the clinical response for dose titration. The FIBSER scale will be used to assess side effects and the degree to which they interfere with day-to-day functions. The participant-specific dose at week 6, up to a maximum of 200 mg/d, will be continued for the remaining 6 weeks.

Also known as: Sertraline, "Zoloft"

Antidepressant Drug Therapy

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 21 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age ≥ 21 years;
• Undergoing thrice-weekly maintenance HD for ≥ 3 months;
• Able to speak either English or Spanish;
• BDI-II score ≥ 15; and
• Meets diagnostic criteria for either current major depressive episode or dysthymia on the MINI.

You may not qualify if:

• Active suicidal intent;
• Ongoing psychotherapy or current treatment with certain anti-depressant drugs;
• Evidence of cognitive impairment on Mini-Cog;
• Present or past psychosis or bipolar disorder I or II on the MINI;
• Alcohol or substance abuse diagnosed on the MINI or history of such abuse in the past three months;
• Life expectancy \< 3 months, in the judgment of the site principal investigator;
• Anticipated to receive living related donor kidney transplantation within 3 months;
• Pregnancy, or lactation, or women of childbearing age not willing to use adequate birth control;
• Clinical and/or laboratory evidence of chronic liver disease;
• History of significant active bleeding in the past three months, such as hospitalization for gastrointestinal bleeding;
• Current use of class I anti-arrhythmic medications (e.g., propafenone, flecainide), pimozide, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, reserpine, guanethidine, cimetidine, tri-cyclic anti-depressants, triptans, tramadol, linezolid, tryptophan, and St. John's wort; and
• Known hypersensitivity to sertraline.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Washington: lead
• University of Texas: collaborator
• University of New Mexico: collaborator
• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute: collaborator

Study Sites (3)

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131, United States

Location

University of Texas Southwestern

Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States

Location

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington, 98195, United States

Location

Related Publications (20)

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  PMID: 16310620 BACKGROUND

• Weisbord SD, Fried LF, Arnold RM, Fine MJ, Levenson DJ, Peterson RA, Switzer GE. Prevalence, severity, and importance of physical and emotional symptoms in chronic hemodialysis patients. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2005 Aug;16(8):2487-94. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2005020157. Epub 2005 Jun 23.

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• Hedayati SS, Bosworth HB, Kuchibhatla M, Kimmel PL, Szczech LA. The predictive value of self-report scales compared with physician diagnosis of depression in hemodialysis patients. Kidney Int. 2006 May;69(9):1662-8. doi: 10.1038/sj.ki.5000308.

  PMID: 16598203 BACKGROUND

• Kimmel PL, Peterson RA, Weihs KL, Simmens SJ, Alleyne S, Cruz I, Veis JH. Multiple measurements of depression predict mortality in a longitudinal study of chronic hemodialysis outpatients. Kidney Int. 2000 May;57(5):2093-8. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1755.2000.00059.x.

  PMID: 10792629 BACKGROUND

• Hedayati SS, Bosworth HB, Briley LP, Sloane RJ, Pieper CF, Kimmel PL, Szczech LA. Death or hospitalization of patients on chronic hemodialysis is associated with a physician-based diagnosis of depression. Kidney Int. 2008 Oct;74(7):930-6. doi: 10.1038/ki.2008.311. Epub 2008 Jun 25.

  PMID: 18580856 BACKGROUND

• System, U.S.R.D., US Department of Public Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 2012.

  BACKGROUND

• Glassman AH, O'Connor CM, Califf RM, Swedberg K, Schwartz P, Bigger JT Jr, Krishnan KR, van Zyl LT, Swenson JR, Finkel MS, Landau C, Shapiro PA, Pepine CJ, Mardekian J, Harrison WM, Barton D, Mclvor M; Sertraline Antidepressant Heart Attack Randomized Trial (SADHEART) Group. Sertraline treatment of major depression in patients with acute MI or unstable angina. JAMA. 2002 Aug 14;288(6):701-9. doi: 10.1001/jama.288.6.701.

  PMID: 12169073 BACKGROUND

• Cukor D, Rosenthal DS, Jindal RM, Brown CD, Kimmel PL. Depression is an important contributor to low medication adherence in hemodialyzed patients and transplant recipients. Kidney Int. 2009 Jun;75(11):1223-1229. doi: 10.1038/ki.2009.51. Epub 2009 Feb 25.

  PMID: 19242502 BACKGROUND

• Kutner NG, Zhang R, McClellan WM, Cole SA. Psychosocial predictors of non-compliance in haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2002 Jan;17(1):93-9. doi: 10.1093/ndt/17.1.93.

  PMID: 11773470 BACKGROUND

• Weisbord SD, Fried LF, Mor MK, Resnick AL, Unruh ML, Palevsky PM, Levenson DJ, Cooksey SH, Fine MJ, Kimmel PL, Arnold RM. Renal provider recognition of symptoms in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2007 Sep;2(5):960-7. doi: 10.2215/CJN.00990207. Epub 2007 Aug 8.

  PMID: 17702730 BACKGROUND

• Cukor D, Ver Halen N, Asher DR, Coplan JD, Weedon J, Wyka KE, Saggi SJ, Kimmel PL. Psychosocial intervention improves depression, quality of life, and fluid adherence in hemodialysis. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2014 Jan;25(1):196-206. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2012111134. Epub 2013 Oct 10.

  PMID: 24115478 BACKGROUND

• Duarte PS, Miyazaki MC, Blay SL, Sesso R. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy is an effective treatment for major depression in hemodialysis patients. Kidney Int. 2009 Aug;76(4):414-21. doi: 10.1038/ki.2009.156. Epub 2009 May 20.

  PMID: 19455196 BACKGROUND

• Atalay H, Solak Y, Biyik M, Biyik Z, Yeksan M, Uguz F, Guney I, Tonbul HZ, Turk S. Sertraline treatment is associated with an improvement in depression and health-related quality of life in chronic peritoneal dialysis patients. Int Urol Nephrol. 2010 Jun;42(2):527-36. doi: 10.1007/s11255-009-9686-y. Epub 2009 Dec 2.

  PMID: 19953347 BACKGROUND

• Cukor D, Coplan J, Brown C, Peterson RA, Kimmel PL. Course of depression and anxiety diagnosis in patients treated with hemodialysis: a 16-month follow-up. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2008 Nov;3(6):1752-8. doi: 10.2215/CJN.01120308. Epub 2008 Aug 6.

  PMID: 18684897 BACKGROUND

• Hedayati SS, Minhajuddin AT, Toto RD, Morris DW, Rush AJ. Validation of depression screening scales in patients with CKD. Am J Kidney Dis. 2009 Sep;54(3):433-9. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2009.03.016. Epub 2009 Jun 3.

  PMID: 19493600 BACKGROUND

• Wisniewski SR, Rush AJ, Balasubramani GK, Trivedi MH, Nierenberg AA; STARD Investigators. Self-rated global measure of the frequency, intensity, and burden of side effects. J Psychiatr Pract. 2006 Mar;12(2):71-9. doi: 10.1097/00131746-200603000-00002.

  PMID: 16728903 BACKGROUND

• Rush AJ, Trivedi MH, Ibrahim HM, Carmody TJ, Arnow B, Klein DN, Markowitz JC, Ninan PT, Kornstein S, Manber R, Thase ME, Kocsis JH, Keller MB. The 16-Item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS), clinician rating (QIDS-C), and self-report (QIDS-SR): a psychometric evaluation in patients with chronic major depression. Biol Psychiatry. 2003 Sep 1;54(5):573-83. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01866-8.

  PMID: 12946886 BACKGROUND

• Natale P, Ju A, Strippoli GF, Craig JC, Saglimbene VM, Unruh ML, Stallone G, Jaure A. Interventions for fatigue in people with kidney failure requiring dialysis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Aug 31;8(8):CD013074. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013074.pub2.

  PMID: 37651553 DERIVED

• Mehrotra R, Cukor D, Unruh M, Rue T, Heagerty P, Cohen SD, Dember LM, Diaz-Linhart Y, Dubovsky A, Greene T, Grote N, Kutner N, Trivedi MH, Quinn DK, Ver Halen N, Weisbord SD, Young BA, Kimmel PL, Hedayati SS. Comparative Efficacy of Therapies for Treatment of Depression for Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Ann Intern Med. 2019 Mar 19;170(6):369-379. doi: 10.7326/M18-2229. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

  PMID: 30802897 DERIVED

• Hedayati SS, Daniel DM, Cohen S, Comstock B, Cukor D, Diaz-Linhart Y, Dember LM, Dubovsky A, Greene T, Grote N, Heagerty P, Katon W, Kimmel PL, Kutner N, Linke L, Quinn D, Rue T, Trivedi MH, Unruh M, Weisbord S, Young BA, Mehrotra R. Rationale and design of A Trial of Sertraline vs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for End-stage Renal Disease Patients with Depression (ASCEND). Contemp Clin Trials. 2016 Mar;47:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2015.11.020. Epub 2015 Nov 24.

  PMID: 26621218 DERIVED

Related Links

• Kidney Research Institute

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Depressive Disorder, Major; Dysthymic Disorder

Interventions

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Sertraline

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Renal Insufficiency; Kidney Diseases; Urologic Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Urogenital Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Chronic Disease; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Depressive Disorder; Mood Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; 1-Naphthylamine; Amines; Organic Chemicals; Naphthalenes; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; Hydrocarbons, Cyclic; Hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Compounds

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Tessa Rue, Biostatistician
• Organization: Center for Biomedical Statistics, University of Washington

ruet@uw.edu

206-543-4246

Study Officials

• Rajnish Mehrotra, MD

  University of Washington

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 3
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 13, 2015
• First Posted: February 6, 2015
• Study Start: March 23, 2015
• Primary Completion: November 15, 2017
• Study Completion: December 15, 2017
• Last Updated: July 23, 2019
• Results First Posted: July 23, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-07

Locations

US (3)