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The use of electroconvulsive therapy in old age psychiatry
Author(s) -
Benbow Susan Mary
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.930020105
Subject(s) - electroconvulsive therapy , psychiatry , medicine , antidepressant , geriatric psychiatry , depression (economics) , psychology , pediatrics , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , anxiety , economics , macroeconomics
All patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) under the care of the Old Age Psychiatry service at the University Hospital of South Manchester between 1976 and 1982 were studied. Data on 193 courses were collected. Eighty per cent of patients were well or considerably improved at discharge. When relapses occurred they usually responded well to antidepressant treatment and did not indicate a poor outcome in the long term. The results confirm that ECT is a safe and effective treatment for elderly patients with severe depressive illnesses, despite the fact that many of them suffer from concurrent physical problems and that some have evidence of intellectual impairment.