Electroconvulsive Therapy Is an Essential Procedure

Impact on Electroconvulsive Therapy Services, Including Patient Relapse and Death, During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Quantitative Results From a Multinational Survey

OBJECTIVES

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is important in the management of major, life-threatening, and treatment-resistant psychiatric illness. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted ECT services. The need for new infection control measures, staff redeployment and shortages, and the perception that ECT is as an "elective" procedure have caused changes to, and reductions in, ECT delivery. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on ECT services, staff, and patients globally.

METHODS

Data were collected using an electronic, mixed-methods, cross-sectional survey. The survey was open from March to November 2021. Clinical directors in ECT services, their delegates, and anesthetists were asked to participate. Quantitative findings are reported.

RESULTS

One hundred and twelve participants worldwide completed the survey. The study identified significant impacts on services, staff, and patients. Importantly, most participants (57.8%; n = 63) reported their services made at least 1 change to ECT delivery. More than three-quarters (81.0%; n = 73) reported that their service had identified at least 1 patient who could not access ECT. More than two-thirds (71.4%; n = 67) reported that their service identified patients who experienced a relapse in their psychiatric illness due to lack of ECT access. Six participants (7.6%) reported that their service had identified at least 1 patient who died, by suicide or other means, due to lack of ECT access.

CONCLUSIONS

All ECT practices surveyed were impacted by COVID-19 with decreases in capacity, staffing, changes in workflow, and personal protective equipment requirements with relatively little change to ECT technique. Lack of access to ECT resulted in significant morbidity and mortality, including suicide, internationally. This is the first multisite, international survey to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on ECT services, staff, and patients.

Factors Associated With Utilization of Electroconvulsive Therapy During Psychiatric Hospitalization Among Children and Adolescents in China

PURPOSE

Based on a nationally representative sample in China, we examined the demographic and clinical correlates of utilization of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in child and adolescent (C/A) patients younger than 18 years during psychiatric hospitalization.

METHODS

As part of a national survey, 41 provincial tertiary psychiatric hospitals in mainland China were selected. Data from 196 C/A patients who were discharged from these psychiatric hospitals from March 19 to 31, 2019, were retrieved and analyzed.

RESULTS

(1) The overall rate of ECT among C/A patients during psychiatric hospitalization was 15.6% (n = 30). (2) Between ECT and non-ECT groups, significant differences were found in sex, age, length of stay, Global Assessment of Functioning at admission, treatment outcome, and self-injurious behavior during hospitalization, and the ratio of marked improvement on discharge. (3) Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that ECT use was independently and positively associated with an older age, male sex, lower Global Assessment of Functioning, and self-injurious behavior during hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of ECT use was relatively frequent in C/A patients during psychiatric hospitalization in our nationally representative sample in China. Developing more specific and operational criteria for the use of ECT for C/A patients is needed to provide guidance for the optimal use of ECT in this patient population.

Impact of COVID-19 on electroconvulsive therapy practice across Canadian provinces during the first wave of the pandemic

BACKGROUND

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedural treatment that is potentially life-saving for some patients with severe psychiatric illness. At the start of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, ECT practice was remarkably disrupted, putting vulnerable individuals at increased risk of symptom exacerbation and death by suicide. This study aimed to capture the self-reported experiences of psychiatrists based at healthcare facilities across Canadian provinces who were delivering ECT treatments during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., from mid-March 2020 to mid-May 2020).

METHODS

A multidisciplinary team of experts developed a survey focusing on five domains: ECT unit operations, decision-making, hospital resources, ECT procedure, and mitigating patient impact. Responses were collected from psychiatrists providing ECT at 67 ECT centres in Canada, grouped by four geographical regions (Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and Western Canada).

RESULTS

Clinical operations of ECT programs were disrupted across all four regions - however, centres in Atlantic Canada were able to best preserve outpatient and maintenance care, while centres in Western Canada were able to best preserve inpatient and acute care. Similarly, Atlantic and Western Canada demonstrated the best decision-making practices of involving the ECT team and clinical ethicists in the development of pandemic-related guidelines. Across all four regions, ECT practice was affected by the redeployment of professionals, the shortage of personal protective equipment, and the need to enforce social distancing. Attempts to introduce modifications to the ECT delivery room and minimize bag-valve-mask ventilation were consistently reported. All four regions developed a new patient prioritization framework, and Western Canada, notably, aimed to provide ECT to only the most severe cases.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that ECT provision was disproportionately affected across different parts of Canada. Possible factors that could explain these interregional differences include population, distribution of urban vs. rural areas, pre-pandemic barriers in access to ECT, number of cases, ability to control the spread of infection, and the general reduction in physicians' activities across different areas of health care. Studying these factors in the future will inform how medical centres should respond to public health emergencies and pandemic-related circumstances in the context of procedural treatments.

Challenges of treating catatonia in the community setting without access to electroconvulsive therapy

Catatonia is a psychomotor syndrome resulting from an underlying psychiatric or medical disorder commonly observed in inpatient psychiatric units. While benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are effective treatment options, the unavailability of ECT in many community psychiatric hospitals in the United States negatively affects patient outcomes. We present a 25-year-old African American male with a psychiatric diagnosis of schizophrenia complicated by malignant catatonia who was admitted to a community psychiatric hospital. He required intensive medical stabilization with supportive management, and transfer requests to ECT-equipped hospitals were initiated. While awaiting transfer for 148 days, the patient's symptoms did not fully remit with lorazepam (even with 36 mg daily in divided doses) and other psychotropic medication trials, including antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. After nearly 5 months of inpatient stay, he was successfully transferred, received ECT treatment, and experienced rapid resolution of catatonia. After discharge, to obtain three monthly sessions of maintenance ECT, he had 5-h one-way ground transportation arranged to an out-of-county ECT-equipped facility. There was no relapse in catatonia by the 2-year follow-up. This report highlights a significant healthcare disparity when attempting to manage severe catatonia within community hospital settings without access to ECT in the United States. Alternative treatments, including antipsychotics, had minimal impact on symptoms and possibly increased morbidity in this case while awaiting ECT. Treatment at our designated safety net hospital still required referral to 14 ECT-equipped hospitals before successful transfer. This case highlights the urgent need for ECT availability in more community hospitals to treat patients with refractory psychiatric conditions, including catatonia. ECT is an essential psychiatric treatment that, for certain conditions, has no appropriate alternatives. We propose that access to ECT be considered in the determination of safety net hospital systems, with improved ability to transfer patients who are suffering from treatable life-threatening mental health conditions.

Strategies from A Multi-National Sample of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Services: Managing Anesthesia for ECT during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is important in the management of severe, treatment-resistant, and life-threatening psychiatric illness. Anesthesia supports the clinical efficacy and tolerability of ECT. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted ECT services, including anesthesia. This study documents strategies for managing ECT anesthesia during the pandemic. Data were collected between March and November 2021, using a mixed-methods, cross-sectional, electronic survey. Clinical directors in ECT services, their delegates, and anesthetists worldwide participated. One hundred and twelve participants provided quantitative responses to the survey. Of these, 23.4% were anesthetists, and the remainder were ECT clinical directors. Most participants were from Australia, New Zealand, North America, and Europe. Most were located in a public hospital, in a metropolitan region, and in a ‘medium/high-risk’ COVID-19 hotspot. Half of the participants reported their services made changes to ECT anesthetic technique during the pandemic. Services introduced strategies associated with anesthetic induction, ventilation, use of laryngeal mask airways, staffing, medications, plastic barriers to separate staff from patients, and the location of extubation and recovery. This is the first multi-national, mixed-methods study to investigate ECT anesthesia practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results are vital to inform practice during the next waves of COVID-19 infection, ensuring patients continue to receive ECT.

The Use of ECT in the Elderly-Looking Beyond Depression

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We reviewed recent evidence on the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the geriatric population. This review looked at the literature on depression, for which there is a breadth of data, as well as other conditions that have historically not been as well studied, as well as attempting to provide practical recommendations for ECT practitioners. This review also examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ECT in the elderly.

RECENT FINDINGS

ECT shows robust efficacy across many psychiatric diseases, from depression and bipolar disorder to psychosis and catatonia. It has also shown positive results at improving behavioral symptoms of dementia, as well as improving motor symptoms seen in Parkinson's disease. It is routinely found to be a safe treatment as well, generally with only minimal transient side effects. ECT should not be considered a "last-resort" treatment for geriatric patients suffering from psychiatric disorders. It has historical and recent literature supporting its use in many psychiatric disorders and has been shown to be safe with minimal side effects when appropriate considerations are taken for the elderly population.

Provision of Electroconvulsive Therapy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey Among Clinics in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a marked impact on psychiatry. Capacity reductions also affected electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), even though ECT is an essential rather than an elective procedure. We sent a survey to all 197 clinics in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with an ECT service between March and May 2021 to provide an overview of the changes made to ECT services in these countries during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a quarter of the clinics (27.0%) reported a temporary suspension of all ECT treatments, and 28.2% of the clinics reported reductions of up to 75%. Maintenance ECT was suspended in 46.7% of the clinics and reduced by up to 75% in 30.6% of the clinics. At the time of the survey, 40.8% of the clinics still reported lower numbers of ECT treatments compared with the prepandemic situation. Reasons for the reduced number of ECT treatments included patient safety and testing measures, personnel shortages in the anesthesiology departments, and limited availability of rooms. The COVID-19 pandemic had and continues to have a marked negative impact on the provision of ECT in clinics in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. To avoid negative consequences for patients, ECT clinics should urgently take steps to provide ECT services without disruptions.

A comparison of the safety, feasibility, and tolerability of ECT and ketamine for treatment-resistant depression

INTRODUCTION

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a problematic and prevalent public health and societal concern. Although electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the gold standard TRD intervention, the treatment evokes apprehension due to public perceptions, feasibility, and tolerability. Despite significant medical advancements, few medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for TRD. In 2019, intranasal esketamine, the S-isomer of racemic ketamine, was approved for TRD, garnering significant excitement about the potential for the drug to act as an alternative treatment to ECT.

AREAS COVERED

The goal of this narrative review is to compare the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of ketamine and ECT; clarify whether ketamine is a reasonable alternative to ECT; and to facilitate improved treatment assignment for TRD. Empirical quantitative and qualitative studies and national and international guidelines these treatments are reviewed.

EXPERT OPINION

: The field awaits the results of two ongoing large comparative effectiveness trials of ECT and IV ketamine for TRD, which should help guide clinicians and patients as to the relative risk and benefit of these interventions. Over the next five years we anticipate further innovations in neuromodulation and in drug development which broadly aim to develop more tolerable versions of ECT and ketamine, respectively.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Brain Stimulation Therapy

Among the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been restricted access to safe and effective forms of psychiatric treatment. Focusing on electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation, we review the pandemic's impact on brain stimulation therapy by asking 3 fundamental questions-Where have we been? How are we doing? And where are we going?

"ECT should never stop": Exploring the experiences and recommendations of ECT clinical directors and anesthetists about ECT during the COVID-19 pandemic

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment option for severe, treatment-resistant, and life-threating psychiatric illness. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted ECT services. Services across North America, Europe, and Australia have reported decreased ECT delivery, and changes in the ways ECT is delivered. This study aimed to identify the impacts of COVID-19 on ECT services globally by exploring clinicians' experiences about ECT during the pandemic, and their recommendations for reducing the negative impacts of the pandemic. Data were collected using an electronic, cross-sectional survey, which included elicitation of free-text responses. The survey was open from March to November 2021. Clinical directors in ECT services, their delegates, and anesthetists were invited to participate. This paper reports the qualitative analysis of responses provided. Fifty-two participants provided qualitative response/s; 74.5% were clinical directors or their delegates, and 25.5% were anesthetists. Greater than one-third of participants were from Australia/New Zealand, and there was also representation from North America, Europe, and the UK. Participants' responses were detailed, averaging 43 words. Three themes were identified: (1) Service provision, about the importance of ECT services continuing during the pandemic, (2) Preparedness, through guidelines and environmental design, and (3) Personal protection, about strategies to increase staff safety. This is the first multi-site, international study to document the experiences and recommendations of ECT clinical directors and anesthetists about the effect of COVID-19 on ECT practice. The findings inform evidence-based practice, and ensure people with major psychiatric illnesses continue to receive ECT during the pandemic.