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Published on: April 11, 2019
Demographic and Clinical Profile of Patients With Dementia Receiving Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Case-Control Study
Qing-E Zhang1, Sha Sha, Gabor S Ungvari
1From the *National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, China; †Psychogeriatric Unit, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; ‡The University of Notre Dame Australia/Marian Centre, Perth; §School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; ∥Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; ¶Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; #Department of General Psychiatry, Guangzhou Huiai Hospital & the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China; **Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont; ††Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; and ‡‡Unit of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
Purpose:
Little is known about the clinical characteristics of patients with dementia receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of behavioral symptoms. This study examined the demographic and clinical profile of patients with dementia receiving ECT in China.
Methods:
This was a retrospective, case-control study. The sample was composed of 23 patients with dementia treated with ECT and 71 sex- and age-matched controls treated for a period of 8 years (2007-2014) at the National Clinical Research Centre of Mental Disorders, China. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from the electronic chart management system.
Results:
Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that ECT was independently associated with high risk for suicide at admission. The recorded indications for ECT included both high risk for suicide and aggressive behavior. Most patients responded to ECT satisfactorily (56.5%) or partially (34.8%) with only mild-moderate transient memory impairment (30.4%).
Conclusions:
Although this is a preliminary study limited by the retrospective design and small sample size, findings suggest that ECT is an effective and safe therapeutic intervention to reduce the risk for suicide and aggressive behavior in dementia.
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