The Journal of ECTMarch 19, 2026Jennifer Sjödin, Karin Zimmer, Max Bell et al.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an established treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), particularly in severe cases and in cases resistant to pharmacological interventions. Anesthesia plays an important role in optimizing patient tolerability during ECT but may attenuate the treatment effect, as anesthetic agents elevate the seizure threshold. This review aims to examine the impact of...
This case series describes the combined use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and intranasal esketamine (ESK)-2 rapidly acting, evidence-based options for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Each can leave residual symptoms or early relapse. Whether concurrent use confers more durable benefit remains unclear. We followed 4 adults (50 to 72 y) with severe TRD who had shown partial or waning...
The Journal of ECTApril 28, 2025Selin Balki Tekin, Ayşe Nur İnci Kenar, İhsan Anıl Doğruyol et al.
The present study aims to make a contribution to the extant literature on the sharing of clinical experiences with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and the effects of different anesthetic drugs on ECT efficacy. A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients who were administered ECT from March 2023 to July 2024 was conducted to obtain data on age, gender, psychiatric diagnosis, type...
The Journal of ECTApril 15, 2025Erich J Conrad, Zachary F Stielper, Isabelle V Mermilliod et al.
The presence of catatonia refractory to routine pharmacologic management is often subsequently managed by electroconvulsive therapy. However, legal obstacles that delay the initiation of electroconvulsive therapy in a timely fashion may be present. This may lead to prolonged risks associated with immobility and result in other procedures such as percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube...
This study investigates repeated oral esketamine as a substitution strategy for maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (M-ECT) in eight patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). In a 6-week dosing phase, esketamine was titrated from 0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg to a maximum of 3.0 mg/kg twice weekly. Outcomes included 6-week change in Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology - Self-rated (IDS-SR),...
OBJECTIVES It remains controversial whether a subanesthetic dose of ketamine could modulate the antidepressant effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients with major depressive disorder. We investigated the effect of ketamine on accelerating the antidepressant efficacy of ECT. METHODS One hundred twenty-seven patients with major depressive disorder were included in this randomized,...
Objectives Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for drug-resistant depression (DRD). Because a single infusion of ketamine may exert both a rapid antidepressant effect and a quick improvement of cognition, the aim of the present study was to assess whether ketamine, as an anesthetic drug for ECT, can augment the antidepressant activity of the procedure and/or exert a...
The Journal of ECTSeptember 2010Nagahisa Okamoto, Tetsuji Nakai, Kota Sakamoto et al.
Reports of the superiority of the antidepressant effect of ketamine during the conduct of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have been limited. We conducted an open-label trial of ketamine to determine whether ketamine as the anesthetic during ECT would provide a greater antidepressant effect than the antidepressant effect obtained with propofol. Between April 2006 and April 2007, 31 inpatients...