Self-Rated ECT Outcomes in Patients With Depression: A Naturalistic Single-Site Study in JECT

 Out on PubMed, from researchers in Minnesota, is this study:


Self-Rated ECT Outcomes in Patients With Depression: A Naturalistic Single-Site Study.

Berger SR, Kung S, Lapid MI.J ECT. 2024 Nov 6. doi: 10.1097/YCT.0000000000001081. Online ahead of print.PMID: 39531338
The abstract is copied below:

Objectives: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered to be the most effective treatment for severe depression. This study investigated recent ECT outcomes for depression at a large tertiary center, which also provides community care.

Methods: Data were obtained from Mayo Clinic Rochester patients ages 18 and older who received an acute course of ECT between August 1, 2017 and April 30, 2024. Patients were included if there was a depressive disorder diagnosis (unipolar or bipolar) and a self-rated Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) within 10 days of the start and end of the acute course. Patients were excluded if the starting PHQ-9 score was less than 10. The age, sex, number of acute course treatments, stimulus electrode lead placement, and PHQ-9 scores were collected. Response (PHQ-9 improvement ≥50%) and remission (PHQ-9 < 5) rates were calculated. Linear and logistic regressions were performed to investigate predictors of response and remission.

Results: Of 1206 patients identified, 408 met final inclusion and exclusion criteria. The response rate was 80.4%, and remission rate was 52.7%. Logistic regression for response showed no significant predictors; the P value for age just missed statistical significance (odds ratio, 1.0152; 95% confidence interval, 0.9991-1.0316; P = 0.0641). Logistic regression for remission showed only a lower baseline PHQ-9 score (odds ratio, 0.9465; 95% confidence interval, 0.9049-0.9891; P = 0.0152) as a significant predictor.

Conclusions: Our results affirmed the high efficacy of ECT in severe depression. No other established treatment for depression can report a response rate as high as 80% in a naturalistic study. This study supports the continued relevance and place of ECT for severe depression.

The paper is here.
And from the text:






Here is a very nice study from the Mayo Clinic, published in JECT, showing high response and remission rates to ECT, with self ratings in a "naturalistic" setting. The review of the ECT efficacy literature is also very helpful.
These data, as noted by the authors, make a compelling case for ECT as relevant "gold standard" treatment in modern severe depression care. 
Kudos to these authors for this important contribution to the ECT literature.

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