Electroconvulsive Therapy Contraindications and High-Risk Situations
Key points
- It is now recognized that there are no "absolute" contraindications for the use of ECT.
- The decision to give any treatment is based on an assessment of both risks and benefits among the available treatment options.
- A sample case displaying such characteristics is provided at the end of this chapter (see Case 2).
- However, situations do exist in which the risk of ECT is sufficiently high that the indications for its use should be extremely strong before ECT is considered (American Psychiatric Association Committee on ECT 2000).
Electroconvulsive Therapy: Contraindications and High-Risk Situations
It is now recognized that there are no "absolute" contraindications for the use of ECT. The decision to give any treatment is based on an assessment of both risks and benefits among the available treatment options. Under some extreme circumstances, a high risk with ECT may be offset by the presence of an even greater risk if the patient does not receive ECT (due to either remaining untreated in a condition that is itself associated with a high morbidity or having to use another treatment with either higher risk or lower efficacy) (American Psychiatric Association Committee on ECT 2000). A sample case displaying such characteristics is provided at the end of this chapter (see Case 2).
Electroconvulsive Therapy Introduction Indications
Written and revised by
Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.
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