VA Research Wrap Up: New findings on PTSD treatment, hospital-acquired infections and lung cancer screenings

VA’s Office of Research and Development recently published three News Briefs highlighting new findings on improving PTSD treatment, a tool to reduce hospital-acquired infections and lung cancer screenings.

Reducing alcohol cravings improves PTSD treatment

When PTSD and alcohol use disorder occur together, it can lead to worse outcomes, but San Diego VA researchers proved treating both together can lead to better results.

The researchers split 100 Veterans with both PTSD and alcohol use disorder into two groups: both groups received 12 sessions of prolonged exposure therapy, but one group also received the medication topiramate, which has been shown to reduce alcohol cravings. By the sixth session, those receiving topiramate showed a greater reduction in alcohol cravings. By the ninth session, those receiving topiramate also had less PTSD symptoms than the other group.

Analysis suggested the reductions in alcohol cravings drove the subsequent improvements in PTSD symptoms, providing a potential new path for Veterans to improve PTSD treatment.

View the full study from “Behavior Research and Therapy.”

Notification tool reduces VA hospital-acquired infections

A study of 103 VA medical centers showed an increased use of an electronic tracking and alert system effectively lowered rates of multidrug-resistant organism infection in VA hospitals.

The VA Bug Alert (VABA) system automatically notifies infection prevention personnel at VA Medical Centers when a patient with a history of colonization or infection with drug-resistant bacteria is admitted, so they can take measures to prevent infection spread.

Analysis showed every 10 days of increased VABA use was associated with a 2.2% decrease in the number of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and a 5% decrease in the number of carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CP-CRE) infections, two dangerous bacteria commonly acquired during hospital stays.

The results highlight VABA as an effective way to reduce hospital-acquired infections and improve Veterans’ care in VA Medical Centers.

View the full study from “Antimicrobial Stewardship & Hospital Epidemiology.”

Centralized lung cancer screenings increase Veterans’ access

VA Greater Los Angeles researchers showed that adding a centralized approach to lung cancer screening for Veterans can increase the rate by 75%.

In a centralized approach, dedicated staff and support tools coordinate screening and follow-up referrals. A decentralized model relies on individual primary care clinicians to recommend screening.

By analyzing VA data from 2015 to 2021, involving more than 150,000 Veterans who were screened for lung cancer, the researchers found a hybrid model using both primary care clinicians and a centralized process was particularly effective at improving lung cancer screening rates for rural Veterans and those living in disadvantaged regions.

View the full study from the journal “Chest.”

For more Office of Research and Development updates, visit ORD online or go to https://www.research.va.gov/news_briefs/.