Electroconvulsive Therapy: Difference between revisions
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Often, when people think of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) they think of the process depicted in the film ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. A lone patient with electrodes attached to their head convulsing in pain...'' | '''Often, when people think of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) they think of the process depicted in the film ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. A lone patient with electrodes attached to their head convulsing in pain...''''' We considered depicting this however, it might [[Priming|prime]] patients into believing this to be the truth whereas modern ECT is very different. Since its introduction in the 1930's, various changes to pulse width, dosing and duration, electrode placement and anaesthesia have made the treatment almost unrecognisable<ref>'''Electroconvulsive therapy: a selected review'''. ''Am J Geriatr Psychiatry''. Greenberg RM, Kellner CH. 2005;13(4):268–81.</ref>. | ||
=== Side Effects === | |||
Like any medical procedure, ECT has some risks. ECT treatment has been associated with short-term memory loss and difficulty learning. This results in patients, after treatment, sometimes have trouble remembering events that occurred in the weeks before the treatment or earlier. These risks must be balanced with the consequences of ineffectively treated severe psychiatric disorders. For some patients, the risks of ECT may be less than those of ongoing treatment with medications. ECT can work more quickly than medications. It can be especially useful if a patient is suicidal, is not responding to medications or cannot tolerate the side effects of medication. | |||
==== Use in Healthy Patients ==== | |||
In otherwise healthy patients with intellectual disability, a retrospective chart review performed at Cambridge university has shown that 79% showed a positive outcome following ECT<ref>https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-psychiatrist/article/use-of-ect-in-patients-with-an-intellectual-disability-review/B2CD9151E5A2B9462BD80175E63A9CB0</ref>. | |||
Latest revision as of 00:54, 29 November 2022
Often, when people think of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) they think of the process depicted in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. A lone patient with electrodes attached to their head convulsing in pain... We considered depicting this however, it might prime patients into believing this to be the truth whereas modern ECT is very different. Since its introduction in the 1930's, various changes to pulse width, dosing and duration, electrode placement and anaesthesia have made the treatment almost unrecognisable[1].
Side Effects
Like any medical procedure, ECT has some risks. ECT treatment has been associated with short-term memory loss and difficulty learning. This results in patients, after treatment, sometimes have trouble remembering events that occurred in the weeks before the treatment or earlier. These risks must be balanced with the consequences of ineffectively treated severe psychiatric disorders. For some patients, the risks of ECT may be less than those of ongoing treatment with medications. ECT can work more quickly than medications. It can be especially useful if a patient is suicidal, is not responding to medications or cannot tolerate the side effects of medication.
Use in Healthy Patients
In otherwise healthy patients with intellectual disability, a retrospective chart review performed at Cambridge university has shown that 79% showed a positive outcome following ECT[2].
- ↑ Electroconvulsive therapy: a selected review. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. Greenberg RM, Kellner CH. 2005;13(4):268–81.
- ↑ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-psychiatrist/article/use-of-ect-in-patients-with-an-intellectual-disability-review/B2CD9151E5A2B9462BD80175E63A9CB0