ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY NO-RELAXANT ANAESTHESIA

Anaesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy: An overview with an update on its role in potentiating electroconvulsive therapy

Despite advances in pharmacotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains a mainstay treatment option in psychiatry since its introduction in 1930s. It can be used primarily in severe illnesses when there is an urgent need for treatment or secondarily after failure or intolerance to pharmacotherapy. The 'unmodified' technique of ECT was practised initially, with a high incidence of musculosk...

No evident neuronal damage after electroconvulsive therapy.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is regarded as one of the most effective treatments for major depressive disorder but has also been associated with cognitive deficits possibly reflecting brain damage. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate whether ECT induces cerebral damage as reflected by different biochemical measures. The concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of three est...

Bispectral index monitoring during electroconvulsive therapy under propofol anaesthesia.

BACKGROUND The accuracy of the bispectral index (BIS) as a monitor of consciousness has not been well studied in patients who have abnormal electroencephalograms (EEG). METHODS We studied the changes in BIS, its subparameters, and spectral entropy of the EEG during 18 electroconvulsive treatments under propofol and succinylcholine anaesthesia. A single bifrontal EEG, and second subocular chan...

Alfentanil has no proconvulsive effect during electroconvulsive therapy.

To the Editor: The efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) relates to seizure duration.1 We explored whether alfentanil has an effect on seizure duration during anesthesia for ECT. In addition, we investigated the effects of alfentanil on the cardiovascular response during ECT, and on the duration of apnea. Etomidate was used as the anesthetic agent because it has the least effect on seizur...

Electroconvulsive Therapy