• Josephine Schultz, Anna Baumeister, Stella Schmotz, Lea Schuurmans, and Lena Jelinek.
• Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2025 Jan 10 (Forthcoming).

BackgroundPatients with panic disorder often suffer from temporary unavailability of care. The smartphone app Invirto (IVT) provides a digital treatment for panic disorder involving self-guided exposure in virtual reality. In this trial, we studied the efficacy of Invirto.MethodsIn a randomized, controlled, non-blinded trial, we compared IVT with care as usual (CAU) in patients with panic disorder (pre-registration: DRKS00027585). The endpoints were assessed online before treatment (t0) and at three months (t1). The primary endpoint was a change in symptoms of anxiety as measured with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The secondary endpoints were the patients' scores on the following assessment instruments, all in their German versions: the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), a patient satisfaction questionnaire ( CSQ-8, Client-Satisfaction-Questionnaire), the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II, in German FAH-II), and the quality of life as a global item in the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF).Results124 patients were included in the trial. The intention-to-treat analysis revealed more pronounced improvement with IVT than with CAU with respect to both the primary (BAI, d = -0.46; 95% confidence interval [-0.87; -0.04]) and the secondary endpoints (PAS, d = -0.63 [-1.05; -0.22]; BDI-II, d = -0.44 [-0.86; -0.02]; FAH-II, d = -0.42 [-0.84; -0.01]), except the WHOQOL-BREF (p = 0.216).ConclusionA digital treatment with virtual exposure can lessen anxiety, panic, and depressive symptoms and improve mental flexibility. In further studies, IVT should be compared with an active control group.

12 keywords...

hide…