title: Right unilateral and bifrontal electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression: a preliminary study.
abstract: The short-term outcome of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was studied in 24 patients with a current major depressive episode (DSM-IV). Patients were randomized to high dose (400% above the seizure threshold) right unilateral (RUL) ECT, to moderate dose (150% above seizure threshold) RUL ECT, and to low dose (just above seizure threshold) bifrontal (BF) ECT. Primary outcome measures included number of treatments, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score, and Mini-Mental State Examination score. High dose RUL ECT was associated with a significantly faster response to treatment than low dose BF ECT. Moreover, there was a tendency to a higher response rate with high dose RUL ECT compared with either moderate dose RUL ECT or BF ECT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. pertti.heikman@hus.fi
authors.forename: Pertti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Heikman
authors.forename: Hely
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kalska
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katila
authors.forename: Seppo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarna
authors.forename: Arja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tuunainen
authors.forename: Kimmo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuoppasalmi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome