Maximal response to electroconvulsive therapy for the treatment of catatonic symptoms

Because the number of medical lawsuits has recently increased in Japan, doses of medication above the upper limits have recently been avoided, even when treating catatonic patients. We treated catatonic symptoms with drugs within the upper limit of dosage and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to determine the maximal response.

We examined 50 consecutive patients with catatonic symptoms admitted to a university hospital during a 32-month period who were treated with either drugs within the upper limit or ECT.

Response rates were as follows: ECT, 100%; chlorpromazine, 68%; risperidone, 26%; haloperidol, 16%; and benzodiazepines, 2%.

The findings indicated that ECT is the treatment of choice for catatonic symptoms.