Ultrabrief (0.3 ms) or brief (0.5 ms) pulses for right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy: is there a difference in seizure thresholds?

Objectives: To compare the minimum charge to elicit a seizure using 2 different pulse widths, the brief pulse (0.5 milliseconds [ms]) and the ultrabrief pulse (0.3 ms).

Recovery after ECT: comparison of propofol, etomidate and thiopental.

Objectives: To compare post anesthetic time for patient recovery after electroconvulsive therapy, as measured by the post anesthetic Recovery Score of Aldrete and Kroulik, using three different types of hypnotic drugs (propofol, etomidate and thiopental).

Method: Thirty patients were randomized to receive one of the three drugs (n = 10 in each group), during a course of electroconvulsive therapy treatment. Patients and raters were blinded to which drug was received.