Electroconvulsive therapy in psychiatric practice: a selective review of the evidence.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is largely historical but is still in use. Modern psychiatry requires careful selection of patients in whom ECT will be performed. The indications for ECT treatment are limited, and the selection criteria should be strictly followed. The advantages and the disadvantages of the methods are discussed here. Despite the limitations, ECT seems to have real value in selected mental conditions in which it can even be considered a life-saving procedure.
Oral
E Timucin
ET
Bakirköy Prof. Mazhar Osman State Training and Research Hospital, for Psychiatry and Neurology, Bakirköy Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey.
Tomruk
Nesrin
N
Plesnicar
Blanka Kores
BK
Hotujac
Ljubomir
L
Kocmur
Marga
M
Koychev
Georgy
G
Sartorius
Norman
N
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D000075202:Contraindications; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000266:history; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome