Premium
Electroconvulsive therapy and cerebral computed tomography
Author(s) -
Bergsholm P.,
Larsen J. L.,
Rosendahl K.,
Holsten F.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb03027.x
Subject(s) - electroconvulsive therapy , computed tomography , medicine , psychology , psychiatry , radiology , schizophrenia (object oriented programming)
— Cerebral computed tomography (CT) was performed before and after right‐sided electroconvutsive therapy (ECT) in 40 patients aged 26–87 years with major affective disorders. Nine patients with a concomitant definite or possible non‐acute organic brain disorder were included. Several patients had long seizure durations, maximum 6.5 min, caused by hyperventilation‐induced hypocapnia. Twenty‐nine patients received at least 16 treatments (maximum 46). No CT changes occurred following ECT. A questionable dilatation of the left temporal horn in a 69‐year‐old hypertensive man who recovered completely without side effects after 3 ECT sessions was probably unrelated to the ECT. Provided sufficient oxygenation, even relatively long ECT series and seizures lasting several minutes do not cause any brain damage visible on CT.