Classics in ECT-Max Fink on an Adequate Course of ECT
Then and now, standard of care should be flexible enough to ensure fully adequate courses of treatment, recognizing that premature cessation of the course may result in incomplete remission and the risk of earlier relapse.
I particularly like the final sentence:[limiting treatment courses] "also fosters public disappointment with the treatment itself."
ECT is not a particularly difficult treatment to deliver, from a technique standpoint. But, it does require a detailed knowledge of of the science behind it. Reading Dr. Fink's recounting of a case in which ECT was prematurely discontinued in the face of short seizures reminds me of the ongoing need of education for our ECT practitioners, including the value of educational ECT mini-courses.
ReplyDelete- Vaughn McCall