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Chapter 12 - ECT in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2019

By
Jasvinder Singh  and
David Andrew Cousins
Edited by
I. Nicol Ferrier  and
Jonathan Waite
I. Nicol Ferrier
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Jonathan Waite
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham
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Summary

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has long been used in the treatment of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders and continues to be a valuable option for a variety of conditions. The range of conditions for which ECT has been used is broad, but in many instances there is a common indication such as the treatment of psychosis, depression or catatonia occurring in conjunction with the primary neuropsychiatric presentation. Substantial, systematically acquired data supports the use of ECT in the functional psychoses (as set out in Chapters 3–11) but the complexity of additional underlying pathology prevents simple inferences being made about the efficacy of ECT in neuropsychiatric conditions. Regrettably, the evidence for ECT as a treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders is generally low grade, mostly comprising case reports, case series and retrospective and observational studies rather than double-blind randomised controlled trials.

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Chapter
Information
The ECT Handbook , pp. 96 - 108
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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