Abstract
We explored the clinical efficacy and safety of modified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the treatment of elderly patients with refractory depression. A total of 43 older patients with refractory depression were enrolled in our study from March 2014 to February 2015, with the average age of 65 ± 4.8 years old. Modified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was performed in these patients after physical examinations and anesthesia procedures. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used to assessing the efficacy of ECT, and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) were used to evaluate the memory ability and cognitive function. The rate of efficacy was calculated as 67.44% after 4 weeks of ECT treatment. Our results showed that HAMA and HAMD scores after 2 weeks of ECT treatment were significantly lower than pretreatment, and the differences were more significant after 4 weeks of ECT treatment. Compared with pretreatment, the scores of memory quotient and immediate memory of WMS decreased significantly after 1 week of treatment. However, these events were not be presented with the progress of treatment, except for after 2 weeks of treatment. Our results demonstrated that compared with pretreatment, the scores of MMSE significantly increased after 4 weeks of treatment. ECT is an effective, well-tolerated, and safe method for the treatment of older patients with refractory depression. ECT can be recommended for the treatment of these patients after conducting effective risk control of comorbid somatic diseases.
Highlights
To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) in the treatment of elderly patients with refractory depression
Our results showed Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores after 2 weeks of MECT treatment were significantly lower than that before treatment (P
Studies have shown that MECT has a certain effect on geriatric depression [10,11,12,13], but whether MECT is effective for the treatment of refractory depression, especially in the older patients with comorbidity of somatic diseases, remains unknown
Summary
To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) in the treatment of elderly patients with refractory depression. 30%-50% of older patients with depression have a limited response to antidepressant treatment or their efficacy is not stable due to various reasons, which makes typical depression evolve into refractory depression, resulting in the decline of their qualities of life, the increase of family treatment costs, and the increase of suicide mortality risk [2]. It has become a difficult psychiatric problem at present, and there is no feasible way to cure it. Our study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of MECT in the treatment of older patients with refractory depression
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