Running an ECT department

An Annotated Bibliography of ECT

The sham ECT literature: implications for consent to ECT.

The author reviewed the placebo-controlled literature on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for depression. No study demonstrated a significant difference between real and placebo (sham) ECT at 1 month posttreatment. Many studies failed to find a difference between real and sham ECT even during the period of treatment. Claims in textbooks and review articles that ECT is effective are not consisten...

Hemodynamic Status Among ECT Patients

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe and practical treatment method for patients with severe, refractory or emergency psychiatric disorders. However, it is often associated with hemodynamic fluctuations.  Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the pattern of hemodynamic changes in patients undergoing ECT. Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted at Sha...

Fidelity of Ect Devices: An alert to Clinicians

In India, the fidelity of electro convulsive therapy (ECT) devices is not regulated by any statutory body; as a result, it is conceivable that marketed devices may not meet the highest standards of quality. We therefore subjected 4 ECT devices, obtained from 4 different manufacturers, to quality testing in a biomedical engineering laboratory. The newest device was one month old, and the oldest ...

Brain Stimulation With ECT: Neuroscience Insights From an Old Treatment

Supporting the use of ECT often feels like swimming upstream, but if we are honest about what reliable treatments are available today for our most seriously ill patients, ECT must top the list. If ECT were newly introduced to the medical and scientific community in 2015, without the unfortunate baggage it has accumulated in the past 80 years, it would be hailed as a breakthrough—far superior in...