Unilateral electro-convulsive therapy

Electro-convulsive therapy was first introduced by Cerletti and Bini in 1938, and has now become the principal physical method of therapy in psychiatry.

The use of arfonad for the alleviation of cardio-vascular stress following electro-convulsive therapy

The safety of electro-convulsive therapy (E.C.T.) has been greatly increased since muscle relaxants were first introduced for this purpose. Short-acting relaxants such as suxamethonium and suxethonium reduce the usual strong tonic and clonic contractions to faint muscle twitchings, and fractures do not occur. Respiration can be maintained throughout by positive pressure inflation so that cyanosis and stertorous breathing are avoided. This may ensure that material from small pulmonary lesions is not disseminated to other areas. It is disappointing that the cardiovascular commotion is only slightly reduced, and deaths still occur, albeit rarely.