title: Electroconvulsive therapy in Lorazepam non-responsive catatonia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) with risperidone in the treatment of lorazepam non-responsive catatonia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inpatients with non-affective catatonia (n= 18) non-responsive to at least five-day trial of lorazepam (6-8 mg/day) were randomised into two groups in a double blind randomised design. Written informed consent was obtained. Four were dropped from the trial as they were found to have depressive catatonia. One group received true ECT (thrice weekly, n=8) plus oral placebo while the other received sham ECT plus risperidone (4-6 mg/ day). Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS) was administered twice weekly to assess improvement in catatonic symptoms over a period of three weeks. The two groups were compared using two-way RMANOVA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BFCRS scores reduced markedly over treatment course and this reduction was more profound in the ECT group (p=0.035). Shorter the duration of illness greater was the response (lower scores of BFCRS).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Superior clinical efficacy of ECT over neuroleptics in catatonia is confirmed by this randomized clinical trial.
authors.affiliation: GIRISH K. MD, Senior Resident, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore-560029.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Girish
authors.forename: Neeraj S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Gill