Recently published by investigators from Sweden and Norway, led by senior author, Axel Nordenskjöld, is this epidemiological study:
Predictors of treatment response to electroconvulsive therapy in schizophrenia – a nationwide registry-based study. Linnea Stenmark, BSci, Katarzyna Popiolek, MD, Robert Bodén, MD, PhD, Ole Brus, Msc, Åsa Hammar, PhD, Mikael Landen, MD, PhD, Johan Lundberg, MD, PhD, Pia Nordanskog, MD, PhD, Axel Nordenskjöld, MD, PhD , Schizophrenia Bulletin Open, https://doi.org/10.1093/schizbullopen/sgaa019
Predictors of treatment response to electroconvulsive therapy in schizophrenia – a nationwide registry-based study. Linnea Stenmark, BSci, Katarzyna Popiolek, MD, Robert Bodén, MD, PhD, Ole Brus, Msc, Åsa Hammar, PhD, Mikael Landen, MD, PhD, Johan Lundberg, MD, PhD, Pia Nordanskog, MD, PhD, Axel Nordenskjöld, MD, PhD , Schizophrenia Bulletin Open, https://doi.org/10.1093/schizbullopen/sgaa019
The methods included:
All patients admitted to any Swedish hospital for schizophrenia from 2011 to 2017, who were treated with ECT while in inpatient care, were included in the Swedish National Quality Registry for ECT (Q-ECT), and were assessed using the Clinical Global Impression – Improvement (CGI-I) scale after treatment were included.
The study included 285 patients who were concurrently treated with antipsychotic drugs. The response rate to ECT was 73.0%. Among those patients with outcome data, treatment with long-acting injectable antipsychotics was predictive of a better response, whereas comorbid substance use disorders were predictive of a worse response.
This is yet another important study enabled by the excellent national healthcare database in Sweden. The paradox of schizophrenia being the leading indication for ECT worldwide, yet being little used for this illness in most european countries and the USA remains. See also blog post of 5/29/20 for another study from the Swedish National Quality Register for ECT.
Thank you for including the study in your excellent blog. This study shows that a large proportion of patients with schizophrenia experience relief after ECT. I agree that more patients with schizophrenia could benefit from ECT in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe. For some patients with schizophrenia ECT is the difference between great suffering and frequent hospitalizations and a decent life in a nursing home. I find it meaningful to be able to provide this difference.
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