CClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT03152175Updated Jun 18, 2021

Posttraumatic Stress Disorders in Police, Correctional Service Officers, and 911 Operators

A Phase 2 interventional study of Propranolol Hydrochloride and Placebo in Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders, Post-traumatic Stress Disorders and Adjustment Disorders, sponsored by Douglas Mental Health University Institute. Status unknown at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-06-18.

Sponsored by Douglas Mental Health University Institute · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Jun 2021), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
64
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Police officers, correctional service officers, and 911-operators are at increased risk for suffering from trauma-related disorders due to their direct and indirect exposure to life-threatening events, such as shootings, violent assaults, or car accidents, among others. Typical treatments for post-traumatic stress disorders include psychotherapy and pharmacological therapies (i.e., antidepressants). Although these interventions are effective for many sufferers, they all have limitations. Thus, the investigators propose to explore the usefulness of a new therapeutic technique, reconsolidation blockade, which involves reactivating the trauma memory while under the influence of propranolol. Objectives and hypotheses: To explore the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of reconsolidation blockade therapy as an adjunct treatment for trauma- and stressor-related disorders as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Mental Disorders-5. The investigators hypothesize that, compared to the control group, 5 weekly trauma-memory reactivations under propranolol treatment will confer a significant reduction in trauma-related symptoms and significantly more health-related economic benefits. Stress symptoms and health-related costs will be assessed at 7, 26 and 52 weeks after study inclusion. In this study, the investigators will also explore the effects of reconsolidation blockade with propranolol on various neuropsychological functions.

02

Conditions studied

  • Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders
  • Post-traumatic Stress Disorders
  • Adjustment Disorders
  • Acute Stress Disorder

Keywords

  • Memory Reconsolidation
  • Propranolol
  • Police officers
  • 911 operators
  • Efficacy
  • Cost-effectiveness
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Understands and reads French
  • Currently or previously worked for the Quebec City Police Department, or the 911 dispatch for Quebec City, or another police department or 911 dispatch in the province of Quebec, or for the Quebec Ministry of Public Security as a correctional service officer
  • Meets criteria for a trauma-and stressor-related disorder, such as: Acute Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Other Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 5th edition.
  • The trauma-and stressor-related disorder must be due to a work-related event.
  • A score of at least 4 (moderately ill) on the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity Scale.
  • Participants who are currently taking a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or Selective Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (antidepressants) must accept to skip their morning dose on the days that they receive the study's intervention.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Systolic blood pressure \< 100mm Hg (millimeter of mercury) at visit 0.
  • Heart rate \< 55 bpm (beats per minute) at visit 0.
  • Medical conditions that contraindicate propranolol administration, as determined by the treating physician.
  • Previous diagnosis of a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
  • Previous adverse reaction or non-compliance with a beta-blocker.
  • Medications that can have an dangerous interaction with propranolol.
  • Fertile women who are not using an adequate contraceptive methods.
  • Pregnant women.
  • Nursing women.
  • The following psychiatric conditions: past or present bipolar disorder, past or present psychotic disorder, present substance abuse or dependence, actively suicidal, past or present neurological disorder, complex posttraumatic stress disorder.
04

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
64 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Propranolol Hydrochloride

    1mg / kg of propranolol hydrochloride administered as a capsule 60 minutes prior to memory reactivation

    Drug: Propranolol Hydrochloride

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Placebo manufactured as a capsule to mimic 1mg/kg of propranolol hydrochloride administered 60 minutes prior to memory reactivation

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugPropranolol Hydrochloride

    1mg / kg of propranolol hydrochloride, oral capsule

    Also known as: Teva-propranolol

  • DrugPlacebo

    1mg / kg of matched placebo, oral capsule

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire with five-level scale

    This questionnaire is a standardized instrument for measuring generic health status

    Time frame: The weighted average of the questionnaire responses will be calculated over a 12 month period

Secondary outcomes

  1. Post-traumatic Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders - 5th edition (PCL-5)

    Measure of trauma and stressor related symptoms

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 7, 26, and 52.

  2. Hopkins Symptom Checklist - 25 (HSCL - 25).

    Measure of depression and anxiety symptom severity

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 7, 26, and 52.

  3. Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-OP)

    Measure of severity of occupational stress

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7, 26, and 52.

Other outcomes

  1. Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ)

    Measure of psycho-social functional

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7, 26, and 52.

  2. Rey's 15-Item Memory test

    Measure of verbal learning and memory

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7 and 52.

  3. The Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale - III

    Measure of verbal learning and memory

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7 and 52.

  4. Trail Making Test

    Measure of mental flexibility

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7 and 52.

  5. Color-Word Interference Test of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System

    Measure of selective attention

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7 and 52.

  6. Coding subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV

    Measure of working memory

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7 and 52.

  7. Attention subtest of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT)

    Measure of working memory, divided attention, and information processing speed

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7 and 52.

  8. D2 Test of attention

    Measure of selective and sustained attention

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7 and 52.

  9. Verbal Fluency Test

    Measure of verbal ability and executive control

    Time frame: Change from baseline (week 0) to weeks 7 and 52.

  10. Subjective Units of Distress Scale

    Measure of subjective distress from exposure to an event

    Time frame: Changes from week 1 to weeks 2, 3, 4 and 5.

06

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Douglas Mental Health University Institute
    Montreal, Quebec H4H1R3, Canada
    • Daniel Saumier · Contact · irsst.brunet@gmail.com · 514-761-6131
    • Alain Brunet, PhD. · Principal investigator
    • Isabelle Rouleau, PhD. · Sub investigator
    • Helen-Maria Vasiliadis, PhD. · Sub investigator
    • Alexandra Bisson-Desrochers, C. Phil. · Sub investigator
    • Daniel Saumier, PhD. · Sub investigator
    • Jacques Tremblay, MD., MSc. · Sub investigator
    • Maxime Guérin · Sub investigator
    Recruiting
07

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03152175
Lead sponsor
Douglas Mental Health University Institute
Collaborators
Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail
Responsible party
Alain Brunet, Ph.D. (Primary Investigator and Full Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University., Douglas Mental Health University Institute) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 12, 2017
Start date
Mar 30, 2017
Primary completion
Mar 2022 (estimated)
Completion
Mar 2023 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 18, 2021

Study contacts

Alain Brunet, PhD.
Contact
alain.brunet@mcgill.ca
514-761-6131 ext. 4348
Daniel Saumier, PhD.
Contact
irsst.brunet@gmail.com
514-761-6131 ext. 4349
Alain Brunet, PhD.
principal investigator · Douglas Mental Health University Institute

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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