ECT for Catatonia from Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury

Out on PubMed, from clinicians at NYU, is this case report:

Successful Use of Electroconvulsive Therapy for Catatonia After Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury.

Kim K, Anbarasan D, Caravella RA, Nally E, Ying P, Gurin L.Psychosomatics. 2020 Sep 2:S0033-3182(20)30243-7. doi: 10.1016/j.psym.2020.08.009. Online ahead of print.PMID: 33023757 
A small portion of the text of the case report is excerpted below (the pdf is not available without permission):



This is an interesting and well-written case report.
The theoretical discussion about the medical/neuropsychiatric contexts in which catatonia may appear is thoughtful.
What is distressing is the tentative and ineffectual ECT that was initially prescribed for the patient, and the obsessional, repetitive exaggeration of the risks of cognitive adverse effects in the text, thinking that also seemed to drive the clinical decisions. Mature clinical decision-making involves carefully balancing risks and benefits, but also understanding the seriousness of a patient's condition and risks of undertreatment. Of course, I was not involved in the clinical care of this patient and am only speaking from my reaction to the way the issues were conveyed in the case report. It seems to me that the main, and very beneficial, takeaway message from the case is that catatonia was recognized and ECT was prescribed; the specifics of the ECT should not be assumed to be a model of optimum care.

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