ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY EXPERIENCES AT NARA MEDICAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

We surveyed the clinical electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment expe- riences between 1987 and 1992 at Nara Medical University Hospital. ECT is restrictedly applied to severely ill patients who have no response to other somatic therapies. For 5 years, 43 cases were treated with ECT, of which 27 suffered from depressive disorders, 3 from schizophrenia, 3 from somatoform disorders, and 10 from anxiety disorders. ECT was selected by psychiatrists for severe depressive states after failure of psychopharmacological therapy. A favorable therapeutic response to ECT was observed in 69% of patients with major depression, in 2 of 3 patients with schizophrenia, and in 70% of patients with anxiety disorders. In 2 of 3 patients with somatoform disorders, amelioration of the depressive or anxiety syndrome was not observed. Side effects of ECT were reversible memory distur- bance (16%), retrograde partial amnesia (12%), and reversible confusional state (5%). These results suggest that ECT is highly effective in therapy resistant major depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders. Therefore ECT still remains a necessary part of psychiatric therapy.