Open AccessAchieving stable remission with maintenance electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with treatment-resistant schizophrenia
Author(s) -
Sebastian Moeller,
Neele Kalkwarf,
Caroline Lücke,
Diana Ortiz,
Sonja Jahn,
Christiane Först,
Niclas Braun,
Alexandra Philipsen,
Helge Müller
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.59
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1536-5964
pISSN - 0025-7974
DOI - 10.1097/md.0000000000008813
Subject(s) - electroconvulsive therapy , medicine , psychosocial , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , pharmacotherapy , rating scale , psychiatry , psychosis , maintenance therapy , chemotherapy , psychology , developmental psychology
Rationale: Up to one third of all schizophrenic patients are classified as having treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). This subgroup faces remarkable medical and psychosocial damages, and pharmacotherapy is often limited due to nonresponse and/or side effects. Maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (M-ECT) might be effective in TRS. Patient concerns: We present a case of a 26-year-old male patient with a TRS. Diagnoses: He received a treatment series of ECT sessions and a course of 24 M-ECTs. Interventions: The entire treatment was tolerated without significant side effects. Outcomes: Moreover, the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale (PSYRATS) scores for both positive and negative symptoms decreased and remained stable over the course of M-ECT. Lessons: Because of the remarkable improvement in the negative and positive symptom clusters, we propose systematic examinations in the field of M-ECT in TRS patients. These studies should integrate long-term outcome and tolerance measurements, gaining insight into the optimal duration of treatment for this indication.