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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
Pupillary Response as Assessment of Effective Seizure Induction by Electroconvulsive Therapy
Published on: April 11, 2019
Electroconvulsive therapy practice in Catalonia: a survey study comparing data from 1993 and 2010
Erika Martínez-Amorós1, Verònica Gálvez, Narcís Cardoner
1From the *Psychiatry Department, Parc Taulí Health Corporation, University Institute Parc Taulí Foundation, Autonomous University of Barcelona (IUFPT-UAB), Sabadell, Spain; †School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Therapeutic Neurostimulation Group, Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia; ‡Neuroscience Group [Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-] IDIBELL, Mood Disorders Clinical and Research Unit, Psychiatry Department, Bellvitge University Hospital-ICS, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; §Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Madrid, Spain; and ∥Schizophrenia Unit, Neuroscience Institute, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess the current use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Catalonia (Spain) as compared with ECT practice 17 years ago (1993).
Methods:
This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study using a structured questionnaire to collect data regarding the use of ECT in Catalan psychiatric units in 2010. A comparative approach was used with respect to previously published data.
Results:
Data were obtained from 25 of the 27 units (92.6%) surveyed. The ECT was used in 20 facilities (80%, as opposed to 60% in 1993), and in all cases, a brief-pulse device was used. The most commonly used anesthetic was propofol (65%), and most facilities recorded the seizure duration (95%). The ECT was always administered in combination with pharmacologic therapy, and the primary clinical indication was depression. Only 20% of the ECT procedures were performed in the inpatient unit. Written informed consent to administer ECT was obtained in all centers.
Conclusions:
The ECT practice in Catalonia has changed since the 1990s, being administered more often, in a more standardized way and across a larger number of psychiatric units. The results indicate considerable consensus with regard to its indications and conditions of application, which comply with current clinical practice guidelines and standards.
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