A comparison of two unilateral ECT electrode placements: efficacy and electrical energy considerations

The authors compared the treatment outcomes and ECT energy requirements of 10 patients treated with the Muller unilateral placement method (secondary electrode in the frontal position) with those of 10 matched patients treated with the unilateral placement described by d'Elia (secondary electrode lateral to the vertex). Both groups showed a similar dramatic clinical improvement after ECT; however, the mean watt seconds required for the Muller method was nearly four times that for the d'Elia procedure. The treating physicians reported that the patients treated by the d'Elia method had fewer anterograde and retrograde memory disturbances and that they were alert and oriented sooner after ECT.