Aim: Seizure threshold (ST) in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has not been reported previously in Japanese patients. We investigated ST in bilateral ECT in Japanese patients using the dose-titration method. The associations between demographic and clinical characteristics and ST were analyzed to identify the predictors of ST. Finally, the validity of the half-age method for the stimulus dose was evaluated.Methods: Fifty-four Japanese patients with mood disorder, schizophrenia, and other psychotic disorders received an acute course of bilateral ECT using a brief-pulse device. ST was determined at the first session using a fixed titration schedule. ST was correlated with age, sex, body mass index, history of previous ECT, and psychotropic drugs on multiple regression analysis. Furthermore, the rate of accomplished seizures was calculated using the half-age method.Results: Mean ST was 136 mC. ST was influenced by age, sex, history of previous ECT, and medication with benzodiazepines. The accomplished seizure rate using the half-age method was 72%, which was significantly lower in men and subjects on benzodiazepines.
Conclusion:ST in Japanese patients was equal to or slightly higher than that previously reported in other ethnic groups, which might be attributable, at least in part, to high prevalence of and large-dose benzodiazepine prescription. Higher age, male gender, no history of ECT, and benzodiazepines were related to higher ST. The half-age method was especially useful in female patients and subjects without benzodiazepine medication.
Objective
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is indicated for various psychiatric situations that are difficult to manage otherwise and may be regarded as a last resort but seizure induction is sometimes difficult, resulting in inadequate trials and futile outcomes.
Method
We report on a 72-year-old female patient with bipolar depression whose seizure induction with ECT was challenging but the use of flumazenil was deemed effective to obtain remission in the end. We also provide a literature review on this topic.
Results
Seizure induction was managed with the use of flumazenil, a selective GABA-A receptor antagonist to neutralize the effects of benzodiazepine hypnotics, together with decreasing the amount of anesthesia, increasing the pulse width, and adding chlorpromazine. A PubMed search with keywords of flumazenil and ECT yielded only 14 hits (December 2020) and found some indication that flumazenil might be of use for this purpose even in the absence of benzodiazepines, although evidence base has remained very limited.
Conclusions
Flumazenil, an antidote of benzodiazepines, may be effective regardless of whether benzodiazepines are in use. Because inefficient ECT is clinically problematic, more studies are necessary to investigate the effectiveness of flumazenil for successful seizure induction with ECT.
To elucidate an involvement of amyloid dysmetabolism in the pathophysiology of depression, we investigated associations of plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) levels with Alzheimer's disease-related changes in neuroimaging and cognitive dysfunction in patients with late-life depression. Higher plasma Aβ40, but not Aβ42 nor Aβ40/Aβ42 ratio, was associated with higher degree of parahippocampal atrophy and lower verbal fluency performance. Indeed, high plasma Aβ40 predicted poor cognitive prognosis of depressed patients with mild cognitive impairment. As an anti-depressive treatment, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) resulted in a marginally significant reduction of plasma Aβ40 compared to pharmacotherapy alone, suggesting protective effects of ECT against amyloid dysmetabolism.
Purpose
Anorexia nervosa (AN) may be treated with intravenous hyperalimentation (IVH) that may be associated with catheter‐related bloodstream infection (CRBSI).
Design and Methods
Retrospective chart review was conducted to compare those who developed CRBSI were compared with those who did not.
Findings
Of 34 patients, 17 episodes of AN treated with IVH were identified, of which five resulted in CRBSI. The average body mass index at admission was low at 12.2. Patients who needed physical restraint during IVH had a higher (albeit statistically nonsignificant) risk. Also, those with purging had numerically lower risk.
Practice Implications
CRBSI complicated IVH in 29.4% instances of severe life‐threatening AN in our sample. Whether physical restraints and no purging constitute a risk factor of CRBSI needs to be further investigated.
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