Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39628430›Full record

Trial reportDeutsches Arzteblatt international2025

App-Based Psychotherapy of Panic Disorder With Self-Guided Exposure in Virtual Reality—A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Josephine Schultz, Anna Baumeister, Stella Schmotz, Lea Schuurmans, Lena Jelinek

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Josephine SchultzDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg.
Anna Baumeister
Stella Schmotz
Lea Schuurmans
Lena Jelinek

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with panic disorder often suffer from tempo rary unavailability of care. The smartphone app Invirto (IVT) provides digital treatment for panic disorder comprising self-guided exposure in virtual reality. The aim of this trial was to assess the efficacy of Invirto.

methodsIn a randomized, controlled, non-blinded trial, IVT was compared with care as usual (CAU) in patients with panic disorder (preregistration: DRKS00027585). The endpoints were assessed online before treatment (t0) and at 3 months (t1). The primary endpoint was the change in symptoms of anxiety, as measured with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), between the groups. 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 questionnaire on patient satisfaction (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, CSQ-8), the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II), and quality of life as a global item in the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF).

resultsOne hundred twenty-four participants were included. The intention-to-treat analysis revealed greater improvement with IVT than with CAU with respect to both the primary endpoint (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]; AAQ-II, d = -0.42 [-0.84; -0.01]), except for 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.

Indexed as

Implosive TherapyMobile ApplicationsPanic DisorderSelf CareVirtual RealityVirtual Reality Exposure TherapyAdultFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedPatient SatisfactionTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID39628430
PMCPMC12415993

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.