Successful ECT in a patient with an orbital cavernous hemangioma

Electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with a cavernous hemangioma

Intracranial space-occupying lesions are felt to be a relative contraindication to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), although there have been several reports of safely treating patients with a variety of intracranial vascular malformations. We report a patient with a parietal cavernous hemangioma (CH), whose ECT proceeded without incident. We elected to mitigate the expected increase in blood pressure during the procedure with esmolol, although this precaution may have been unnecessary as CHs are low-flow malformations. While caution is necessary, CHs may represent a relatively minor risk during ECT unless there is evidence of recent hemorrhage.

Electroconvulsive therapy and venous angiomas: two case reports and review of the literature

According to the American Psychiatric Association, the risk for complications related to the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment of patients with cerebrovascular malformations is small. The literature contains a number of case studies presenting the uneventful treatment of patients with cerebral aneurysms with ECT. However, there is a paucity of cases presenting ECT in the context of a cerebral venous angioma. In this article, we present 2 cases of patients treated with ECT who were found to have documented venous angiomas. This is followed with a brief review of the literature.