Dramatic Improvement of Obsessive-compulsive Symptoms after a Single Electroconvulsive Therapy

Abstract

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is usually the last-line treatment in clinical psychiatric practice. But, many patients with major psychiatric disorders who are severely ill, resisting, or intolerant to medication, may respond more reliably and quickly to ECT. Case Report: We report a 37-year-old male patient with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). He had a dramatic change of Yale Brown Obsessive-compulsive Scale score after his receiving a single treatment with ECT. Conclusion: ECT with medication showed dramatic therapeutic effect in obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a patient with MDD and OCD. But clinical observations with a larger number of cases are needed to verify our successful experience with ECT in this patient.