Ultrabrief Electroconvulsive Therapy for Manic Episodes of Bipolar Disorder

Right unilateral ultrabrief-pulse electroconvulsive therapy (RUL-UB ECT) is gaining popularity and is being used for the treatment of severe major depression. Though brief pulse-width ECT has shown to have robust antimanic effects, the efficacy of UB ECT for mania has not been studied, and there are very few reports on its use in mania. A brief case series of 3 patients with manic episode of bipolar disorder who were treated with RUL-UB ECT is presented here. The successful treatment of 2 patients in this report suggests that some manic episodes can be rapidly and effectively treated with RUL-UB ECT.