Efficacy of A Virtual Agent–Based Digital Intervention (Echo App V2.0) for Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial
Shuo Li, Dapeng Zhang, Weicong Sang, Ruihua Li, Wei Yuan, Jingyang Liu, Huixue Li, Meimei Liu, Yunchun Zhang, Bingqian Zhang, Qianying Wu, Chuanning Huang, Haidi Shan, Jiang Du, Haifeng Jiang, Na Zhong, Tianzhen Chen, Min Zhao · 2026
Read Efficacy of A Virtual Agent–Based Digital Intervention (Echo App V2.0) for Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial by Shuo Li, Dapeng Zhang, Weicong Sang, Ruihua Li, Wei Yuan, Jingyang Liu, Huixue Li, Meimei Liu, Yunchun Zhang, Bingqian Zhang, Qianying Wu, Chuanning Huang, Haidi Shan, Jiang Du, Haifeng Jiang, Na Zhong, Tianzhen Chen, Min Zhao (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13585020.txt.
Description
Shuo Li and co-authors trial a phone app with a virtual agent for people recovering from alcohol use disorder. Text-only digital therapy often fails to engage, so the Echo app speaks through an on-screen character guiding cognitive behavioral therapy. Their 2026 trial at one Chinese hospital enrolled ninety-three patients, half getting the app plus usual care and half usual care alone, for four weeks.
Craving rose after discharge in both groups, but the app group rose less at one and three months out. Relapse at one month was also lower with the app, though that edge was sensitive to how missing data were handled, and it vanished by three months. Sleep improved more in the app group right after treatment, and stress fell over time. The authors read the pattern as genuine but fading support, a case for digital tools that keep working after discharge.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Shuo Li, Dapeng Zhang, Weicong Sang, Ruihua Li, Wei Yuan, Jingyang Liu, Huixue Li, Meimei Liu, Yunchun Zhang, Bingqian Zhang, Qianying Wu, Chuanning Huang, Haidi Shan, Jiang Du, Haifeng Jiang, Na Zhong, Tianzhen Chen, Min Zhao |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 51 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |