Out on PubMed is this study from practitioners in Turkey:
ECT augmentation of antipsychotics in severely ill schizophrenia: a naturalistic, observational study.
Usta Saglam NG, Aksoy Poyraz C, Yalcin M, Balcioglu I.Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2020 Jun 15:1-6. doi: 10.1080/13651501.2020.1777313. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32538214The link to the abstract is above; it is copied here:
Objectives: There is positive evidence to support the role of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the treatment of schizophrenia; however, it is unclear to what extent this growing evidence reflects the actual situation in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to explore the efficacy of ECT augmentation to antipsychotics in individuals with schizophrenia in a naturalistic-observational environment.
Methods: Eighty-one patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalised due to acute psychotic exacerbation were included in the study. We compared changes in Positive and Negative Symptom Rating Scale (PANSS) scores between patients treated only with APs and those in the ECT augmentation group.
Results: A statistically significant decrease in symptom severity was observed in all PANSS subscales in both groups. In the ECT group, 95% of the patients (n = 39) responded to treatment compared to 75% of the non-ECT group (n = 30) (χ2=6.496, df = 1, p = 0.011). We found that combining ECT with AP significantly increased treatment response, which was defined as at least 25% PANSS symptom reduction, in patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia, compared to AP alone.
Conclusions: Augmentation of ECT seems to increase responsiveness during acute treatment of severely ill schizophrenia patients. The mean percentage reduction in PANSS scores by 25% following antipsychotic treatment can help identify patients that will benefit from ECT after psychotic relapse in future.
This study adds to the body of data on the clinical utility of the treatment of schizophrenia with ECT. One important methodological  feature of this study was the exclusion of depressed patients. The mean number of ECT was 6.4. Limitations  of the study include its naturalistic nature and lack of long-term follow up. Nonetheless, these data are useful in helping to strengthen the case for more frequent use of ECT for a diagnosis of schizophrenia, in countries (including the US and most of Europe) where such use is currently rare.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

ECT vs Ketamine: NEJM Article Sets Up False Equivalency

RUL ECT vs Low Amplitude Seizure Therapy (LAP-ST)

ECT For Children at a University Hospital: New Study in JECT