title: Safety and Efficacy of ECT in Depressed Patients with Organic Brain Disease: Review of a Clinical Experience.
abstract: We performed a retrospective review of 5 years of experience with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients with organic brain lesions. On 26 of 27 occasions, patients with organic brain disease and a concurrent depressive disorder obtained a good affective response to a course of ECT. Patients with diffuse or multifocal brain disease were vulnerable to ECT-induced delirium; however, this was severe enough to compel discontinuation of ECT on only one occasion. We conclude that ECT is an effective treatment for depression in patients with concurrent neurological disease, although patients with degenerative brain disease or diffuse encephalopathy may be especially prone to ECT-induced delirium.
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Neuropsychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander S.
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Zwil
authors.forename: Thomas W.
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: McAllister
authors.forename: Trevor R. P.
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Price