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Pupillary Response as Assessment of Effective Seizure Induction by Electroconvulsive Therapy
Published on: April 11, 2019
Continuation-maintenance electroconvulsive therapy: quality standards in 3 Australian aged psychiatry services
Daniel W O'Connor1, Betina Gardner, Ian Presnell
1Department of Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Daniel.Oconnor@med.monash.edu.au
Objective:
To check if experienced psychiatrists in Victoria, Australia, observed the standards outlined by the American Psychiatric Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists regarding the administration and monitoring of continuation-maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Methods:
A retrospective chart review of 60 consecutive patients given continuation-maintenance ECT in 3 Victorian public aged psychiatry services.
Results:
Practice guidelines were often not observed concerning documentation of treatment plans, mental state reviews and patients' and carers' viewpoints.
Conclusions:
Continuation-maintenance ECT proved highly effective in this clinical sample. Our audit identifies areas for improvement in clinical practice. It will be helpful to have a simple checklist of treatment plans, rating scale scores, and discussions with patients and carers that clinicians can complete at regular intervals.
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