Maintenance ECT in schizophrenia: A systematic review

Heather Burrell Ward, Steven T. Szabo, Gopalkumar Rakesh

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Relapse after discontinuation of ECT is significant in patients with schizophrenia. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine use of M-ECT in schizophrenia to guide clinical decision making for relapse prevention in schizophrenia. We reviewed studies examining the role of continuation (C-ECT) and maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (M-ECT) in schizophrenia. Following PRISMA guidelines, we included randomized controlled trials, open label trials, retrospective chart reviews, case reports, and case series in this review. We evaluated adjunctive pharmacological regimens; ECT treatment parameters, including frequency, duration of continued treatment, electrode placement; clinical outcomes including cognitive side effects and relapse rates from included studies. Our findings suggest M-ECT could provide an effective form of relapse prevention in these patients and persistent cognitive side effects are minimal.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)131-142
Number of pages12
JournalPsychiatry Research
Volume264
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

  • Maintenance electroconvulsive therapy
  • Relapse prevention
  • Schizophrenia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

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