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Onset of clinical improvement of depressive illness following electroconvulsive therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Laofe Oladele Ogundipe ,
Mike Jorsh ,
B. Wain  and
J. Lea
Laofe Oladele Ogundipe*
Affiliation:
Edward Myer's Unit, City General Hospital, Newcastle Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6QG
Mike Jorsh
Affiliation:
Department of Liaison Psychiatry, City General Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
B. Wain
Affiliation:
North Staffordshire Combined NHS Trust, City General Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
J. Lea
Affiliation:
North Staffordshire Combined NHS Trust, City General Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

To examine the onset and course of clinically observable improvement in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). A prospective design was used In which 19 consecutive patients receiving ECT were followed up from commencement to termination of ECT. The Clinical Global Improvement Scale was administered at every ECT session to monitor their Improvement.

Results

Eleven of the 19 subjects Improved minimally and another subject Improved substantially after the first two ECT treatments.

Clinical implications

ECT produces clinically observable improvement in depression within a few days of starting treatment perhaps earlier than is generally acknowledged.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 23 , Issue 8: The Journal of Trends in Psychiatric Practice , August 1999 , pp. 474 - 477
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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