Effectiveness of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Persistent Methamphetamine Psychosis: A Pilot Study.
Hassan Ziaaddini1, Toktam Roohbakhsh2, Nouzar Nakhaee3
1Professor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Addiction & Health
|September 1, 2015
Summary
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) did not lead to remission in all patients with persistent methamphetamine (METH) psychosis. Further research is needed for effective METH psychosis treatments.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Persistent methamphetamine (METH) psychosis is a challenging condition lacking effective treatments.
- This study focuses on patients with METH psychosis who did not achieve remission after olanzapine treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as an adjunct treatment for persistent METH psychosis.
- To assess remission rates in patients unresponsive to olanzapine.
Main Methods:
- A pilot study involving 10 hospitalized patients with persistent METH psychosis.
- Patients were randomized into two groups: continued olanzapine or olanzapine plus 6 sessions of bilateral ECT.
- Symptom severity was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS).
Main Results:
- The overall remission rate after 4 weeks of olanzapine treatment was 78.7%.
- While symptoms improved, there was no statistically significant difference in BPRS scores between the olanzapine-only and the ECT-plus-olanzapine groups at week 6.
- ECT did not induce complete remission in the studied patients.
Conclusions:
- Few sessions of ECT, when added to olanzapine, did not guarantee remission for all patients with persistent METH psychosis.
- The findings suggest that ECT may not be a universally effective treatment for this specific patient group.
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