Washington Post Story About Man With Bipolar Disorder: ECT Mentioned in Not-So-Good Way

This story appeared in the Washington Post on April 27,2024.

The link to the article is here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2024/marjorie-taylor-greene-threats/

And from the text:

So here is a long article about an incident in the life of a man with severe bipolar disorder; ECT is only a peripheral part of it, but that is what we are here to focus on.

There are three issues in my mind. The first is his description of what is certainly an anesthesia awareness event. The suggestion that it was a panic attack is true as far as it goes, but it was caused by the awareness experience.

Awareness events related to succinylcholine can occur at either induction or emergence. Unfortunately, even when they occur at induction, the subsequent seizure often does not erase them. The ECT care team should be aware themselves of this potential complication and try to avoid it at all costs. It is terrifying to the patient and, as noted here, may cause them to refuse further treatments. 

The second point, a pet peeve of mine is the calling of ECT by archaic, pejorative names. In the top paragraph, the author gets it right, then lower down, reverts to calling it "electroshock." Also, there is the earlier reference to "shock treatments."

Finally, there is the blaming of the ECT as a possible cause for the bad behavior. While it may be true that ECT caused a switch from profound depression to hypomania or mania, this is not explained, and ECT is just targeted as a culprit of the bad situation.

One step forward, two steps back...