Classics n ECT: On Whom Does ECT Work? Lancet 1980

"Classics in ECT" brings you this LTE in The Lancet, from 1980:

The pdf is here.

This LTE, very British and very concise, makes several important points. Dr. Bridges calls for a pragmatic, empirical recognition that ECT works. He decries the influence of psychodynamic psychiatry with its dismissive attitude towards ECT and chides American psychiatry for the use of the term "electroshock." He ends with a sarcastic comment about the ethics of allowing treatment refusal for psychotic patients in the USA.
Search of PK Bridges shows over 100 PubMed citations, on a broad range of psychiatric topics, the last from 1997, as well as several textbooks of psychiatry.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Early Use of the Name "ECT"- Sacklers in 1949

Image
 "Classics in ECT" brings you this study from Creedmore State Hospital in 1949: Nonconvulsive biochemotherapy with histamine and electric convulsive therapy; a comparative study on hospitalized psychotics with a control  ECT  series. SACKLER AM, SACKLER MD, SACKLER RR. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1949 Sep;110(3):185-97. doi: 10.1097/00005053-194911030-00001. PMID:  18138865 The pdf is here . I originally choose this article as the earliest in PubMed to use the name, "ECT," although it also uses "electric [sic] convulsive therapy."  The very first PubMed "ECT" citation is from 1947, but it is written "E.C.T." and also reports a complication, so we prefer this one. Nomenclature aside, this turns out to be an interesting read, with what would now be considered a somewhat bizarre study comparing histamine therapy with ECT. Among the interesting details are the inclusion of a couple of patients with postpartum psychosis and the observation that longer
Read more

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

Image
 Out on PubMed, from authors at Vanderbilt and Mass General,, is this article: Use of   ECT   for Children With and Without Catatonia: A Single-Site Retrospective Analysis. Smith JR, Baldwin I, Termini KA, McGonigle T, Vandekar S, Luccarelli J. J ECT. 2024 Jan 25. doi: 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000993. Online ahead of print. PMID:  38265759 The abstract is copied below: Objectives: The objective study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in a retrospective cohort of pediatric patients. Methods: A single-site retrospective analysis was conducted of patients aged younger than 18 years who received ECT in a private university hospital from January 28, 2012 to April 8, 2023. Treatment efficacy and adverse events were determined retrospectively through review of the medical record. Results: A total of 36 pediatric patients met the inclusion criteria. Catatonia was the most common presenting indication for ECT, followed by psychosis and suicidal ideation.
Read more

Effect of VNS on Maintenance Treatments: New Study Secondary Analyses

Image
Out on PubMed, from authors in Germany and Australia, is this paper:  Impact of Adjunctive VNS on Drug Load, Depression Severity, and Number of Neuromodulatory Maintenance Treatments. Kavakbasi E, Bauermeister H, Lemcke L, Baune BT. Brain Sci. 2024 Feb 4;14(2):159. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14020159. PMID:  38391733 The abstract is copied below: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a long-term adjunctive treatment option in patients with difficult-to-treat depression (DTD). A total of n = 20 patients (mean age 52.6 years) were included in the multicenter, prospective, observational, naturalistic RESTORE-LIFE study and were treated with adjunctive VNS as an add-on to treatment as usual . Exploratory and secondary outcome parameters from a single center were investigated for this present analysis. The overall mean drug load slightly decreased from 4.5 at baseline to 4.4 at 12 months (Z = -0.534, p = 0.594). The drug load was lower in previous electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) responders than in non
Read more