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Chang MG, Barbour TA, Bittner EA. Exploring Brain and Heart Interactions during Electroconvulsive Therapy with Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Med Sci (Basel) 2024; 12:17. [PMID: 38525771 PMCID: PMC11024754 DOI: 10.3390/medsci12020017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure commonly used to treat a number of severe psychiatric disorders, including pharmacologic refractory depression, mania, and catatonia by purposefully inducing a generalized seizure that results in significant hemodynamic changes as a result of an initial transient parasympathetic response that is followed by a marked sympathetic response from a surge in catecholamine release. While the physiologic response of ECT on classic hemodynamic parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure has been described in the literature, real-time visualization of cardiac function using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) during ECT has never been reported. This study utilizes POCUS to examine cardiac function in two patients with different ages and cardiovascular risk profiles undergoing ECT. METHODS Two patients, a 74-year-old male with significant cardiovascular risks and a 23-year-old female with no significant cardiovascular risks presenting for ECT treatment, were included in this study. A portable ultrasound device was used to obtain apical four-chamber images of the heart before ECT stimulation, after seizure induction, and 2 min after seizure resolution to assess qualitative cardiac function. Two physicians with expertise in echocardiography reviewed the studies. Hemodynamic parameters, ECT settings, and seizure duration were recorded. RESULTS Cardiac standstill was observed in both patients during ECT stimulation. The 74-year-old patient with a significant cardiovascular risk profile exhibited a transient decline in cardiac function during ECT, while the 23-year-old patient showed no substantial worsening of cardiac function. These findings suggest that age and pre-existing cardiovascular conditions may influence the cardiac response to ECT. Other potential contributing factors to the cardiac effects of ECT include the parasympathetic and sympathetic responses, medication regimen, and seizure duration with ECT. This study also demonstrates the feasibility of using portable POCUS for real-time cardiac monitoring during ECT. CONCLUSION This study reports for the first time cardiac standstill during ECT stimulation visualized using POCUS imaging. In addition, it reports on the potential differential impact of ECT on cardiac function based on patient-specific factors such as age and cardiovascular risks that may have implications for ECT and perioperative anesthetic management and optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marvin G. Chang
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA;
| | - Tracy A. Barbour
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA;
| | - Edward A. Bittner
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA;
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Kapadia M, Jagadish PS, Hutchinson M, Lee H. Atrial fibrillation, electroconvulsive therapy, stroke risk, and anticoagulation. Egypt Heart J 2023; 75:94. [PMID: 38010438 PMCID: PMC10682349 DOI: 10.1186/s43044-023-00409-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a therapy used to treat refractory mental health conditions, ranging from depression to catatonia, and it has gained renewed prominence in practice and the literature of late. Given that ECT involves the application of direct current to the body, there exists a risk of a change in cardiac rhythm during therapy. When atrial fibrillation is induced, ECT carries a potential risk of stroke. These risks have not been previously analyzed or summarized in the literature to allow physicians to make educated decisions about periprocedural risk and anticoagulation needs. METHODS To better describe this risk, the authors reviewed PubMed for articles that described the post-ECT cardioversion of AF to sinus rhythm, new development of AF post-ECT, and new stroke after either rhythm change. RESULTS Included were 14 studies describing 19 unique patients. Most patients had no rhythm change during at least one of many ECT sessions. Five patients converted from AF to sinus rhythm during at least one session, while AF followed ECT in seventeen patients during at least one ECT session. Four patients experienced both ECT-related cardioversion from AF to sinus rhythm as well as conversion from sinus rhythm to AF. Although no patients with a rhythm change experienced a stroke, one unanticoagulated patient who remained in AF developed a stroke post-ECT. CONCLUSIONS Electroconvulsive therapy is demonstrated to be associated with rhythm changes-from atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm as well as from sinus rhythm to atrial fibrillation. Thus, stroke risk during and after ECT remains a possibility. The anticoagulation of patients with AF who undergo ECT should be based on individual stroke risk factors, using validated stroke risk models, rather than prescribed routinely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meera Kapadia
- Department of Internal Medicine at McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin, MSB 1.150, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Pooja S Jagadish
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Arizona-Tucson, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., PO Box 245046, Tucson, AZ, 85724-5035, USA.
| | - Marcus Hutchinson
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona-Tucson, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85724-5035, USA
| | - Hong Lee
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Arizona-Tucson, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., PO Box 245046, Tucson, AZ, 85724-5035, USA
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES Rapid parasympathetic and sympathetic hemodynamic effects during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may pose vulnerable patients to significant risk for cardiovascular complications. Here, we evaluated the clinical feasibility of noninvasive beat-to-beat arterial blood pressure (BP) measurements in patients undergoing ECT. METHODS Beat-to-beat hemodynamic effects were measured with a noninvasive BP monitor in 24 individual patients undergoing ECT during general anesthesia. Heart rate, systolic (SBP), and diastolic BP (DBP) as well as cardiac output (CO) were measured continuously. A significant increase in pulse rate and/or BP was treated with intermittent administration of esmolol and ketanserin. Data are presented as mean ± SD. RESULTS The ECT stimulus induced a transient drop in BP and pulse rate, followed by a sharp rise in both parameters. The parasympathetic phase lasted 17 ± 9 seconds and was characterized by a drop in heart rate from 89 ± 15 to 42 ± 24 beats per minute, in SBP from 143 ± 22 to 91 ± 31 mm Hg, in DBP from 82 ± 13 to 54 ± 22 mm Hg, and in CO from 5.7 ± 2.3 to 1.4 ± 1.0 L/min, respectively. During the subsequent sympathetic phase, the heart rate increased to 125 ± 26 beats per minute, the SBP to 192 ± 33 mm Hg, the DBP to 113 ± 21 mm Hg, and the CO to 7.4 ± 4.3 L/min. The time interval between the lowest and highest SBP was 60 ± 48 seconds. CONCLUSIONS Noninvasive beat-to-beat BP measurements are feasible during ECT and may be used to guide rapid therapeutic interventions during ECT-induced hemodynamic effects.
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Thirthalli J, Harish T, Gangadhar BN. A prospective comparative study of interaction between lithium and modified electroconvulsive therapy. World J Biol Psychiatry 2011; 12:149-55. [PMID: 20645670 DOI: 10.3109/15622975.2010.504860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To compare patients on lithium and those not on lithium with regard to adverse effects while receiving ECT. METHODS Inpatients with schizophrenia, non-organic psychosis, mania and depression, who were prescribed ECTs either on (n=27) or not (n=28) on lithium were studied. Clinicians blind to lithium-status recorded seizure parameters, interaction with succinyl choline, cardiovascular response, recovery from ECT and immediate post-ECT complications. RESULTS The lithium group showed no significant difference in terms of seizure variables, apnea time, and recovery from anaesthesia when compared to the non-lithium group. Average maximum heart rate, average maximum systolic blood pressure and average maximum rate pressure product were significantly lower in patients who had combined lithium and ECT. In lithium patients the average time to post-ECT recovery was directly correlated with serum lithium level. CONCLUSIONS Though concurrent lithium is by and large safe during ECT, it benefits to maintain serum lithium level at lower end of therapeutic range. However, the findings can be applied to relatively young patients with no risk factors for ECT-complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jagadisha Thirthalli
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India.
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Ito M, Hatta K, Miyakawa K, Miyauchi K, Arai H. Prolonged and fluctuating giant T-wave inversion after electroconvulsive therapy. J ECT 2007; 23:194-7. [PMID: 17804999 DOI: 10.1097/yct.0b013e31806ad234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
A 76-year-old woman was scheduled to receive 8 treatments of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for severe depression. Although she experienced no adverse consequences in the first 2 treatments, giant T-wave inversion ensued from the third treatment despite no change in anesthesia or technical parameters of ECT. T-wave inversion appeared to have almost disappeared 8 days after the third ECT, but reappeared at 3 weeks after treatment during severe pain from gallbladder stone. T-wave inversion lasted for 4 months with gradual attenuation. Exaggerated sympathetic stimulation associated with ECT as physical and emotional stressors might have played a role in the appearance of T-wave inversion similar to catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, reappearance of T-wave inversion may have been involved in additive effects of pain from gallbladder stone on vulnerability due to a catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy-like condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masanobu Ito
- Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
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Fusar-Poli P, Picchioni M, Martinelli V, Bhattacharyya S, Cortesi M, Barale F, Politi P. Anti-depressive Therapies After Heart Transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2006; 25:785-93. [PMID: 16818121 DOI: 10.1016/j.healun.2006.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2005] [Revised: 02/07/2006] [Accepted: 03/27/2006] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Despite an improved quality of life, about 33% of heart transplant recipients will develop depressive symptoms post-operatively. To date, no review has explored the efficacy and safety of pharmacologic or psychologic interventions in this patient group. METHODS We conducted a comprehensive Medline, EmBase, Psycinfo search for studies of the treatment of depression in heart transplant recipients. RESULTS We identified 34 studies of variable methodologic quality. Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), particularly citalopram and new-generation anti-depressants (mirtazapine), seem to represent the best therapeutic choices for this population. Tricyclic anti-depressants (TCAs), and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) should be reserved for severe depression unresponsive to other treatments, whereas monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) should be avoided. St John's wort, an alternative herbal drug, has been associated with life-threatening immunosuppression. Psychologic therapy offers further advantages after heart transplantation. CONCLUSIONS Further well-conducted, randomized, controlled trials are needed to clarify the efficacy and the safety of pharmacologic (SSRIs and atypical anti-depressants) and psychologic interventions in the management of depression after heart transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Fusar-Poli
- Department of Applied and Psychobehavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
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Abstract
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is used in the treatment of severe psychiatric disorders. It involves the induction of a seizure for therapeutic purposes by the administration of a variable-frequency electrical stimulus via electrodes applied to the scalp. The original application of ECT in non-anaesthetised patients resulted in many traumatic effects and was replaced, in the early 1960s, with a modified ECT regimen that used anaesthesia with neuromuscular blockade. This remains the worldwide standard today. The development of modern ECT devices, with improved impulse modes, has also reduced the incidence of post-interventional cognitive adverse effects. The variety of centrally-acting co-medications administered and the cardiovascular effects occurring during the procedure make patients receiving ECT a challenge for the anaesthetist. The efficacy of ECT depends on the production of adequate seizures; however, the anaesthetic agents commonly used during ECT suppress the generation of convulsions. Therefore, the efficacy of ECT requires knowledge of anaesthetic precepts, understanding of the interaction between anaesthetic drugs and seizure activity, and awareness of the physiological effects of ECT as well as the treatment of those effects. Successful and safe ECT depends on the correct choice of anaesthetic drugs for the individual patient, which have to be chosen with respect to the individual concomitant medication and pre-existing diseases. This review provides information for the optimal selection, set-up and practice of anaesthetic drug treatment in ECT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus J Wagner
- Klinik für Anaesthesiologie, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
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Selkirk SM. Electroconvulsive Therapy-associated Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Absence of Coronary Artery Disease. South Med J 2004; 97:210-1. [PMID: 14982281 DOI: 10.1097/01.smj.0000105658.01648.3a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Rabheru K. The use of electroconvulsive therapy in special patient populations. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY. REVUE CANADIENNE DE PSYCHIATRIE 2001; 46:710-9. [PMID: 11692973 DOI: 10.1177/070674370104600803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite its well-established efficacy and its increasing use, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains a controversial treatment. Lack of clarity in the issues related to its use in special patient populations (for example, in children, in adolescents, in pregnant women, in the elderly, and in the medically ill) often contributes to the debate about the use of ECT. METHOD The literature on ECT use in special patient populations is reviewed, together with the commonly associated high-risk medical conditions in clinical practice. Specific reference is made in each case to the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the procedure. RESULTS Much of the literature surveyed consists of case studies, although a few controlled trials are available. In general, ECT use in special populations is relatively safe and extremely effective. In small case series, ECT use in children and adolescents is effective but requires further systematic study. In pregnant women, ECT is very effective, and with proper medical care, it is relatively safe in all trimesters of pregnancy, as well as in the postpartum period. The frail elderly are particularly good candidates for ECT because they are often unresponsive to or intolerant of psychotropic medication. Medical conditions that should receive particular attention during a course of ECT are disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), cardiovascular, and respiratory system. With modern anesthesia techniques and careful medical management of each high-risk patient, most can successfully complete a course of ECT. The process of obtaining informed consent also requires special consideration in this group of patients because their capacity to consent to treatment may be compromised. CONCLUSIONS With careful attention to each patient's medical and anesthesia needs, ECT is an effective and relatively safe procedure in high-risk special patient populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Rabheru
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
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Fu W, Stool LA, White PF, Husain MM. Acute hemodynamic responses to electroconvulsive therapy are not related to the duration of seizure activity. J Clin Anesth 1997; 9:653-7. [PMID: 9438894 DOI: 10.1016/s0952-8180(97)00191-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that the magnitude of the acute hemodynamic response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is related to the duration of the seizure activity in patients receiving different dosages of intravenous (i.v.) lidocaine. DESIGN Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. SETTING University-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS 21 ASA physical status I, II, and III patients undergoing four consecutive maintenance ECT treatments for chronic depression. INTERVENTIONS Patients received lidocaine 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg i.v., or saline prior to induction of anesthesia via a standardized anesthetic technique. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Noninvasive blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR), as well as the duration of motor and electroencephalographic (EEG) seizure, were measured. The duration of motor and EEG seizures (means +/- SD) were 37 +/- 13 sec and 64 +/- 21 sec, 25 +/- 11 sec and 52 +/- 43 sec, 17 +/- 12 sec and 32 +/- 17 sec, 1 +/- 3 sec and 18 +/- 10 sec in the saline, lidocaine 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg groups, respectively. Although the duration of seizure activity was decreased in a dose-related fashion after lidocaine pretreatment, the peak increases in BP and HR were similar in the lidocaine and saline treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS Despite producing dose-related decreases in the duration of both motor and EEG seizure activity, lidocaine failed to attenuate the acute hemodynamic response to ECT. Thus, the acute hemodynamic response to ECT is not related to the duration of seizure activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Fu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas 75235-9068, USA
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Kolano JE, Chhibber A, Calalang CC. Use of esmolol to control bleeding and heart rate during electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with an intracranial aneurysm. J Clin Anesth 1997; 9:493-5. [PMID: 9278838 DOI: 10.1016/s0952-8180(97)00074-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a commonly used treatment modality for patients with major affective disorders that are unresponsive to pharmacological therapy. While ECT has been shown to be a very safe treatment, it is associated with transient hemodynamic alterations, including hypertension, which are associated with an increased risk of rupture of an intracranial aneurysm. We describe our use of the ultrashort acting beta-blocker, esmolol, for blood-pressure control in a woman with known cerebral aneurysmal disease who required ECT for treatment of recurrent major depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- J E Kolano
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Rochester medical Center, NY 14642, USA
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Abstract
The rare complication of asystole with beta-adrenergic blockade by labetalol following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is described with a literature review of cardiac mechanisms (33 references).
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Abstract
Several topics have been reviewed pertaining to psychiatric patients requiring either surgery or ECT. Most of the morbidity unique to this group of patients in the perioperative period results from drug side effects or interactions. Complications can be minimized by familiarity with the side effects of psychotropic medication and by the discontinuation of these medications when indicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Ziring
- Department of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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O'Flaherty D, Husain MM, Moore M, Wolff TR, Sills S, Giesecke AH. Circulatory responses during electroconvulsive therapy. The comparative effects of placebo, esmolol and nitroglycerin. Anaesthesia 1992; 47:563-7. [PMID: 1352662 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1992.tb02324.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Electroconvulsive therapy is usually accompanied by activation of the autonomic nervous system, which may be harmful in patients with cerebrovascular or ischaemic heart disease. We have compared this haemodynamic response in a series of 82 electroconvulsive treatments randomly assigned to receive either nitroglycerin 3 micrograms.kg-1, esmolol 2 mg.kg-1 or placebo. These drugs were given shortly after the suxamethonium and 2 min before the electroconvulsive therapy in all cases. Heart rate was significantly lower with esmolol 1 min after therapy as was blood pressure (systolic and diastolic). The pulse rate was higher following nitroglycerin than placebo, which in turn was higher than esmolol. The three groups did not differ with regard to seizure duration. The results demonstrate that esmolol is more effective than nitroglycerin in controlling the haemodynamic response to electroconvulsive therapy. With recent emphasis on stabilisation of heart rate in preference to blood pressure in at-risk cardiac patients, our study suggests that, in the doses selected, esmolol is preferred to nitroglycerin to control the heart rate response to electroconvulsive therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- D O'Flaherty
- University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235
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Snyder DS, Lipsey JR, McPherson RW. Management for electroconvulsive therapy of a patient with inoperable coronary artery disease and ankylosing spondylitis. J Clin Anesth 1992; 4:226-9. [PMID: 1610580 DOI: 10.1016/0952-8180(92)90071-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
A 69-year-old male with severe coronary artery disease, ankylosing spondylitis, and severe major depression was scheduled for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The patient had previously failed or proved intolerant of antidepressant drug therapy. The nature and severity of the patient's diseases and complexity of potential interactions with ECT and anesthesia required sequential assessment of hemodynamic and airway tolerances with successive treatments. Despite substantial risks for particular patients, ECT may provide the only treatment option for life-threatening psychiatric illness and warrants innovative approaches to anesthetic management.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S Snyder
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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Kovac AL, Goto H, Pardo MP, Arakawa K. Comparison of two esmolol bolus doses on the haemodynamic response and seizure duration during electroconvulsive therapy. Can J Anaesth 1991; 38:204-9. [PMID: 1673645 DOI: 10.1007/bf03008146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Twelve ASA physical status I-III patients were enrolled in a double-blind, prospective, randomized, three-way, within-patient crossover study designed to determine the effect of two standard esmolol bolus doses (100 and 200 mg) on the haemodynamic response and seizure duration during electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). Esmolol or placebo was administered one minute prior to induction of anaesthesia and exactly two minutes before ECT. Both the 100 and 200 mg bolus doses significantly blunted the maximum increase in heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) following ECT in comparison with placebo. Compared with placebo, esmolol 100 mg decreased maximum HR by 23 +/- 3%, maximum MAP by 17 +/- 7% and maximum rate-pressure product (RPP) by 40 +/- 9%. Esmolol 200 mg decreased maximum HR by 25 +/- 3%, maximum MAP by 19 +/- 3% and maximum RPP by 42 +/- 5%. No significant difference was found between the two esmolol doses at corresponding measurement points before and after ECT. Treatment with esmolol 200 mg resulted in a significantly shorter mean seizure duration than with placebo. As the 200 mg dose caused a shorter seizure duration and the haemodynamic effects of 100 mg and 200 mg doses were similar, it was concluded that the 100 mg esmolol bolus dose was the better dose for ECT.
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Affiliation(s)
- A L Kovac
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City 66103
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Webb MC, Coffey CE, Saunders WR, Cress MM, Weiner RD, Sibert TR. Cardiovascular response to unilateral electroconvulsive therapy. Biol Psychiatry 1990; 28:758-66. [PMID: 2257285 DOI: 10.1016/0006-3223(90)90511-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Few studies have examined the cardiovascular response to pulse unilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) performed using modern techniques. In this study of 30 patients (mean age 62 years) with major depression, we determined the effects of pulse unilateral ECT on cardiac work load using the rate-pressure product (RPP), a product of pulse and systolic blood pressure. The mean RPP across all ECT treatments increased by an average of 96% from pre-ECT baseline, with the maximal RPP occurring typically during the seizure. The amount of increase in RPP did not differ significantly over the course of treatments. The increase in RPP was significantly and inversely related to baseline RPP, such that subjects with the highest baseline RPPs actually had smaller increases in RPP during the ECT treatments. The mean percent change in RPP was not associated with age, sex, presence of cardiovascular disease, ECT stimulus charge, EEG seizure duration, or amnestic side effects. There was a trend (p = 0.06), however, for the mean increase in RPP to be greater in responders (100% increase, n = 25) than in nonresponders (76% increase, n = 5). The potential relationship of clinical outcome to the increase in RPP suggests that both factors may be manifestations of the physiological intensity of the ECT-induced seizure.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Webb
- Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710
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Mann JJ, Manevitz AZ, Chen JS, Johnson KS, Adelsheimer EF, Azima-Heller R, Massina A, Wilner PJ. Acute effects of single and repeated electroconvulsive therapy on plasma catecholamines and blood pressure in major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Res 1990; 34:127-37. [PMID: 2287647 DOI: 10.1016/0165-1781(90)90014-v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The role of activation of adrenergic neurons by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in its antidepressant action was studied by examining acute sympathetic nervous system (SNS) responses to ECT during a course of treatment in patients with melancholia. ECT had an acute dose-dependent effect on plasma norepinephrine (NE) level and blood pressure. The postictal increase in plasma NE and blood pressure was independent of electrical seizure duration. Acute levels of NE and epinephrine after ECT correlated positively with ECT dosage. No cumulative effect of repeated ECT was found on the SNS responses. ECT does activate the SNS in a dose-dependent fashion. However, alternative strategies seem necessary for studying the action of ECT on noradrenergic neurons to identify effects that are cumulative, correspond more closely to the time course of its antidepressant action, and correlate with clinical outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- J J Mann
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15213
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Kovac AL, Goto H, Arakawa K, Pardo MP. Esmolol bolus and infusion attenuates increases in blood pressure and heart rate during electroconvulsive therapy. Can J Anaesth 1990; 37:58-62. [PMID: 1967227 DOI: 10.1007/bf03007485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
To determine whether a standardized dose of esmolol can effectively attenuate the cardiovascular response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), 17 ASA physical status I-II patients were studied in a randomized within-patient, crossover design. Each patient received "no esmolol" during one ECT and three to five days later crossed over to the alternative treatment receiving an esmolol 80 mg bolus followed by 24 mg.min-1 infusion two minutes prior to induction of anaesthesia and continued for five minutes after induction. Esmolol blunted the maximum increases in heart rate (HR) by 26 per cent, mean arterial pressure (MAP) by 14 per cent, and rate pressure product by 37 per cent with significant differences (P less than 0.05) noted at one, two, three and four minutes after ECT (minutes five, six, seven, and eight of the esmolol infusion). There was no significant difference in seizure duration between the two groups and no adverse reactions occurred.
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Affiliation(s)
- A L Kovac
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City 66103
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Knos GB, Sung YF, Cooper RC, Stoudemire A. Electroconvulsive therapy--induced hemodynamic changes unmask unsuspected coronary artery disease. J Clin Anesth 1990; 2:37-41. [PMID: 2310579 DOI: 10.1016/0952-8180(90)90048-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is known to produce increases in heart rate and blood pressure during seizure activity due to sympathetic stimulation and systemic catecholamine surges. These intense, brief hemodynamic changes can adversely affect myocardial oxygen supply and demand. In patients with compromised myocardial circulation, ECT can unmask undiagnosed cardiac disease. In this case report, ECT was performed on a 64-year-old white male with negative cardiac history. The patient awakened complaining of chest pain and ST wave depression was noted on the electrocardiogram. Cardiology consultation and cardiac catheterization were followed by coronary artery bypass surgery for significant coronary artery stenosis prior to resumption of ECT treatments. The physiological changes that occur during ECT are discussed, as well as pitfalls in evaluation of these patients for ECT treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- G B Knos
- Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
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22
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Devanand DP, Bowers MB, Hoffman FJ, Sackeim HA. Acute and subacute effects of ECT on plasma HVA, MHPG, and prolactin. Biol Psychiatry 1989; 26:408-12. [PMID: 2765601 DOI: 10.1016/0006-3223(89)90057-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- D P Devanand
- Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY 10032
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23
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Dwyer R, McCaughey W, Lavery J, McCarthy G, Dundee JW. Comparison of propofol and methohexitone as anaesthetic agents for electroconvulsive therapy. Anaesthesia 1988; 43:459-62. [PMID: 3261546 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1988.tb06631.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Propofol was compared to methohexitone for induction of anaesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy. Seizures were significantly shorter after the use of propofol, in respect of both visible seizures and duration of cerebral electrical seizure activity. This suggests the possibility that additional treatments may be needed for the same clinical effect in psychiatric illness when propofol is used as the induction agent. Propofol was more effective than methohexitone at obtunding the hypertensive response to electroconvulsive therapy without causing significant hypotension.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Dwyer
- Department of Anaesthetics, Craigavon Area Hospital, Armagh
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Lew JK, Eastley RJ, Hanning CD. Oxygenation during electroconvulsive therapy. A comparison of two anaesthetic techniques. Anaesthesia 1986; 41:1092-7. [PMID: 3789366 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1986.tb12955.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Oxyhaemoglobin saturation was monitored continuously during electroconvulsive therapy in two groups of patients. All patients were anaesthetised using methohexitone (40-100 mg) and suxamethonium (25-50 mg). In group 1 (n = 48), the patients' lungs were ventilated manually with oxygen in air (40-50%) during the modified convulsion. In group 2 (n = 47), the convulsion was allowed to subside before recommencing manual ventilation with a similar gas mixture. Eight patients in group 1 and seven patients in group 2 received more than one shock and were excluded, leaving 40 patients in each group. In group 1, one patient had a minimum oxygen saturation of less than 90% after the electric shock as opposed to 11 in group 2 (p less than 0.01). Five of the patients in group 2 had a saturation of less than 80%. It is concluded that patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy should be ventilated with an oxygen-enriched gas mixture during the convulsion induced by the electric shock in order to avoid hypoxaemia.
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25
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Marks RJ. Electroconvulsive therapy: physiological and anaesthetic considerations. CANADIAN ANAESTHETISTS' SOCIETY JOURNAL 1984; 31:541-8. [PMID: 6498568 DOI: 10.1007/bf03009540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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Husum B, Vester-Andersen T, Buchmann G, Bolwig TG. Electroconvulsive therapy and intracranial aneurysm. Prevention of blood pressure elevation in a normotensive patient by hydralazine and propranolol. Anaesthesia 1983; 38:1205-7. [PMID: 6660461 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1983.tb12526.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
A 42-year-old normotensive woman developed a severe mental depression 6 months after an operation for intracranial aneurysm. The use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was judged to be of vital importance. By concurrent administration of intravenous hydralazine and propranolol before induction of anaesthesia the normally occurring ECT-induced blood pressure elevation was completely prevented, and the patient received a series of ten ECTs without complications.
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