Demographic and clinical predictors for the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy

Abstract

found by the police in a city hundreds of miles away. She had no memory of her previous life and identity and named herself with a new name. The patient was diagnosed as having dissociative fugue. For five months after the diagnosis was made the patient remained amnesic for her identity and autobiographical memory. No pharmaceutical medication was administered; only psychotherapy. The patient begun to have suicidal thoughts which led to her hospitalization. Treatment: A course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as well as SSRI medication (venlafaxine, initially 75mg and then 150 mg) was administered. Following the fifth course of ECT the patient recalled all of her past memory. Conclusions: The electroconvulsive therapy has not been shown to be an effective or appropriate treatment for dissociative disorders; some authors have indicated that it may be important in relieving an associated depression. There are no reports on the use of ECT for dissociative fugue. This patients paradoxal recall of memory following a course of ECT treatment forced us to this announcement.