[The use of electroconvulsive therapy in acute services at the general hospital]

The aim of the investigation focused on a retrospective analysis of the clinical use of ECT in the Acute Psychiatric Unit of The University Hospital of Guadalajara.

All patients admitted to our psychiatric unit from 1993 to 1998 and who underwent ECT along their hospitalization, were included in the analysis. Age of the sample ranged from 17 to 79. Several variables were controlled, including technical parameters of ETC application.

All patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder showed full remission after ECT. Among patients diagnosed of schizophrenia, 60% experimented full remission and 40% partial remission. In the group of subjects with depression, 66.6% showed full remission, 27.7% partial remission and 5.7% no response. Besides, ETC appeared to be more effective in subjects without psychiatric comorbidity.

The present retrospective analysis support that ECT still must be considered an effective, useful and safe therapeutic technique. In our review, adverse reactions to ECT have been limited and rare, and mostly reversible.