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Subjective Side Effects Acutely Following ECT: Associations with Treatment Modality and Clinical Response
Harold A. Sackeim1, Frances R. Ross, Nancy Hopkins
1Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
Abstract:
Patient reports of systemic side effects and cognitive impairment were obtained the afternoon of each treatment during the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) course. Side effects were grouped a priori as reflecting physical complaints, perceived cognitive impairment, and as mood-related. Patients randomly assigned to bilateral ECT reported more cognitive impairment than patients who received right unilateral ECT. There were indications that the unilateral ECT group had greater physical/somatic complaints. Patients who responded to ECT differed from nonresponders only on the more explicitly mood-related items. Generally, the findings supported the desirability of extending studies of patient reports of ECT adverse effects to include subjective systemic side effects in addition to subjective cognitive impairment.