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. 2025 May 6;25(1):1–123.

Table 3:

Characteristics of Studies Included in the Clinical Systematic Review

Author, year, country Study design Participants
Study type Procedure (brain target) Follow-up Outcomes of interest Population Sample size, N (n with psychiatric comorbidity) Duration of OCD, mean (range), y Age, mean (SD), y Sex, M:F
Davidson et al, 2020,72,74–76 Canada Prospective, open-label case series Bilateral MRgFUS capsulotomy using Exablate Neuro (ALIC) 6-12 moa Y-BOCS score Adverse events
Neurocognitive test results
Technical failure Quality of life
Follow-up
interventions		 Primary diagnosis of OCD (DSM-V) and minimum illness duration of 5 y, Y-BOCS score ≥ 28 and refractory to

  • ≥3 trials of antidepressants

  • >2 trials of drug augmentation or combination

  • ≥1 trial of psychotherapy

 6a (4a) 14.5 (6-24) Median, 13 31 (4.7b) Median, 31 3:3
Kim et al, 20 18,73,77–79 South Korea Prospective, open-label case series Bilateral MRgFUS capsulotomy using Exablate Neuro (ALIC) 2 y Y-BOCS score CGI score Global functioning Adverse events Technical failure Follow-up interventions Primary diagnosis of OCD (DSM-IV) and more than 5 y of symptoms and dysfunction, Y-BOCS score ≥ 28 and refractory to

  • >3 SSRIs at maximum tolerated dose for >12 wk

  • >1 antipsychotic augmentation

  • 20+ sessions of CBT-ERP

 11 (7) 14.6 (9-24) Median, 13 32 (8.1) Median, 34 5:6

Abbreviations: ALIC, anterior limb of the internal capsule; CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy; CGI, Clinical Global Impression; DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV, 4th edition; DSM-V, 5th edition); ERP, exposure and response prevention; F, female; M, male; MRgFUS, magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound; OCD, obsessive–compulsive disorder; SD, standard deviation; SSRI; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; Y-BOCS, Yale-Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale.

a

Number of patients with OCD. Nine patients with OCD were enrolled; 1 was excluded after consent but before MRgFUS. Of the 8 patients with OCD for whom MRgFUS was attempted, the procedure was not completed in 2 cases, and information on the characteristics of these 2 patients is not available.72 One additional patient was treated after March 2019 but before December 2019 and had not reached 6 months of follow-up as of September 2019 when analysis was conducted.74

b

Calculated from data on 6 patients with OCD available in the publication and its published supplementary material.72