Anaesthesia in electroconvulsive therapy. Special conditions.

Objectives: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the main techniques available for the treatment of such serious mental illnesses as schizophrenia and drug-resistant depression. The pre-anaesthetic assessment appropriate for patients with various mental disorders or pathologies does not differ substantially from that of any patient prior to undergoing anaesthesia for a surgical procedure. The present review aims to propose guidelines to achieve a higher level of safety and effectiveness during ECT in the most frequent situations, in accordance with the current literature.

Propofol and thiopental as anesthetic agents in electroconvulsive therapy: a retrospective study in major depression.

Objective: To determine the influence of propofol and thiopental as anesthetics in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as regards, seizure duration, electrical charge, clinical efficacy, cardiovascular profile, and presence of adverse cognitive effects.

Methods: A retrospective design including 127 patients who received bilateral ECT for the treatment of a major depressive episode.

Results: The mean seizure duration in the propofol group was significantly shorter than in the thiopental group (21.

Bilateral posterior vitreous detachment after electroconvulsive therapy.

In this case report, we describe a patient with an acute bilateral posterior detachment of the vitreous, which developed during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) under general anesthesia. The patient developed symptoms of posterior vitreous detachment immediately after recovery from the eighth ECT session. The ophthalmologist confirmed the clinical diagnosis and ECT was stopped.