Refractory obsessive compulsive disorder and ECT

The authors review their experience with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in 32 patients meeting DSM-IIIR criteria for obsessive compulsive disorder. All patients had received extensive behavioral and cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy prior to the initiation of ECT without apparent benefit. Following ECT, most subjects showed considerable improvement in obsessive compulsive symptoms and remained improved up to 1 year after therapy. Some patients also showed short-term improvements on several measures of depression. The change in obsessive compulsive symptoms, however, appeared to be independent of changes in measures of depression.