Initial seizure threshold in the clinical practice of bilateral electroconvulsive therapy in Edinburgh, Scotland

Initial seizure threshold was measured by empirical titration in 137 patients referred for bilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of depressive illness. Treatment was given by an Ectron Series 5A ECT machine. The median and modal thresholds were 75 mC and the range was 50-200 mC. The only statistically significant relationship among initial threshold and age or gender was the correlation of age with threshold in men (rho = 0.46, p < 0.01). All patients (n = 22) younger than 30 years had an initial threshold < 100 mC, but age and gender did not predict threshold accurately for older men or women.