Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-qdpjg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-17T14:44:17.106Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Royal College of Psychiatrists' Memorandum on the Use of Electroconvulsive Therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

A Special Committee of the College was appointed in May 1976 after the President had received a request from Dr Porter, the Regional Medical Officer of the SE Thames Regional Health Authority, for the College's advice on the problems of administration of ECT, especially when consent is withheld or given reluctantly. Although the Regional Authority had been concerned earlier with the problem, the situation which prompted further action was the publication in March of the Report of the Inquiry on St Augustine's Hospital, pages 63–71 of which dealt with the administration of ECT and recommended that the College ‘should give urgent consideration to these problems and issue clear guidance’.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 131 , Issue 3 , September 1977 , pp. 261 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 1977 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Wechsler, H., Grosser, G. H. & Greenblatt, M. (1965) Research evaluating antidepressant medications on hospitalized mental patients: a survey of published reports during a five-year period. J. nerv. merit. Dis., 141, 231–9.Google ScholarPubMed
2 Greenblatt, M., Grosser, G. H. & Wechsler, H. (1964) Differential response to hospitalized depressed patients to somatic therapy. Amer. J, Psychiat., 120, 935–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3 MRC (1965) Report by Clinical Psychiatry Committee. Clinical trial of the treatment of depressive illness. Brit. med. J., i, 881–6.Google Scholar
4 Wilson, I. C., Vernon, J. T., Guin, T. & Sandifer, M. G. (1963) A controlled study of treatments of depression. J. Neuropsychiat., 4, 331–7.Google Scholar
5 McDonald, I. M., Perkins, M., Marjerrison, G. & Podilsky, M. (1966) A controlled comparison of amitriptyline and electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression. Amer. J. Psychiat., 112, 1427–31.Google Scholar
6 Wittenborn, J. R., Plante, M., Burgess, F. & Maurer, H. (1962) A comparison of imipramine, electroconvulsive therapy and placebo in the treatment of depressions. J. nerv. ment. Dis., 135, 131–7.Google Scholar
7 Fahy, P., Imlah, N. & Harrington, J. (1963) A controlled comparison of electroconvulsive therapy, imipramine and thiopentone sleep in depression. J. Neuropsychiat., 4, 310–14.Google Scholar
8 Hobson, R. F. (1953) Prognostic factors in electric convulsive therapy. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat., 16, 275–81.Google Scholar
9 Roberts, J. M. (1959) Prognostic factors in the electroshock treatment of depressive states: (1) Clinical features from testing and examination; (2) The application of specific tests. J. ment. Sci., 105, 693–713.Google Scholar
10 Hamilton, M. & White, J. (1960) Factors related to the outcome of depression treated with ECT. J. ment. Sci., 106, 1031–41.Google Scholar
11 Carney, M. W. P., Roth, M. & Garside, R. F. (1965) The diagnosis of depressive syndromes and the prediction of ECT response. Brit. J. Psychiat., 111, 659–74.Google Scholar
12 Kiloh, L. G., Ball, J. R. B., Garside, R. F. (1962) Prognostic factors in the treatment of depressive states with imipramine. Brit. med. J., i, 1225–7.Google Scholar
12a Abrams, R., Fink, M. & Feldstein, S. (1973) Prediction of clinical response to ECT. Brit. J. Psychiat., 122, 457–60.Google Scholar
13 McCabe, M. S. (1976) ECT in the treatment of mania: a controlled study. Amer. J. Psychiat., 133, 688–90.Google Scholar
14 May, P. R. A. (1968) Treatment of Schizophrenia: a Comparative Study of Five Treatment Methods. New York: Science House.Google Scholar
15 Miller, D. H., Clancy, J. & Cumming, E. (1953) A comparison between unidirectional current nonconvulsive electrical stimulation given with Reiter's machine, standard alternating current electroshock (Cerletti method), and pentothal in chronic schizophrenia. Amer. J. Psychiat., 109, 617–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16 Smith, K., Surphlis, W. R. P., Gynther, M. D. & Shimkunas, A. M. (1967) ECT-chlorpromazine and chlorpromazine compared in the treatment of schizophrenia. J. nerv. ment. Dis., 144, 284–90.Google Scholar
17 Brill, N. Q., Crumpton, E., Eiduson, S., Grayson, H. M., Hellman, L. I. & Richards, P. A. (1959) Relative effectiveness of various components of electroconvulsive therapy. Arch. Neurol. Psychiat., 81, 627–35.Google Scholar
18 Ulett, G. A., Smith, K. & Gleser, G. C. (1956) Evaluation of convulsive and subconvulsive shock therapies utilizing a control group. Amer. J. Psychiat., 112, 795–802.Google Scholar
19 Cronholm, B. & Ottosson, J-O. (1960) Experimental studies of the therapeutic action of electroconvulsive therapy in endogenous depression. Acta psychiat. Scand., Suppl 145, 35, 69–101.Google Scholar
20 Robin, A. A. & Harris, J. A. (1962) A controlled comparison of imipramine and electroplexy. J. ment. Sci., 106, 217–19.Google Scholar
21 Lowinger, P. & Dobie, S. (1969) What makes the placebo work? A study of placebo response rates. Arch. gen. Psychiat., 20, 84–8.Google Scholar
22 D'Elia, G. & Raotma, H. (1975) Is unilateral ECT less effective than bilateral ECT? Brit. J. Psychiat., 126, 83–9.Google Scholar
23 Small, I. F. (1974) Inhalant convulsive therapy. In Psychobiology of Convulsive Therapy (eds Fink, M., Kety, S. S., McGaugh, J. L. and Williams, T. A.), pp. 65–77. New York: J. Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
24 Abrams, R. (1974) Multiple ECT—what have we learned? In Psychobiology of Convulsive Therapy (eds Fink, M., Kety, S. S., McGaugh, J. L. and Williams, T. A.), pp 79–85. New York: J. Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
25 Barker, J. C. & Baker, A. A. (1959) Deaths associated with electroplexy. J. ment. Sci., 105, 339–48.Google Scholar
26 Impastato, D.J. & Almansi, R. (1942) The electrofit in the treatment of mental disease. J. nerv. merit. Dis., 96, 395–409.Google Scholar
27 Kolb, L. C. & Vogel, V. H. (1942) The use of shock therapy in 305 mental hospitals. Amer. J. Psychiat., 99, 90–100.Google Scholar
28 Fuller, R. G. (1930) Expectation of hospital life and outcome for mental patients on first admission (Civil State Hospitals, New York), Psychiatric Quarterly, 4, 295–323.Google Scholar
29 Avery, D. & Winokur, G. (1976) Mortality in depressed patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy and antidepressants. Arch. gen. Psychiat., 33, 1029–37.Google Scholar
30 Sternberg, D. E. & Jarvik, M. E. (1976) Memory functions in depression. Arch. gen. Psychiat., 33, 219–24.Google Scholar
31 Cronholm, B. & Ottosson, J-O. (1963) The experience of memory function after electroconvulsive therapy. Brit. J. Psychiat., 109, 251–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32 Squire, L. R. & Miller, P. L. (1974) Diminution of anterograde amnesia following electroconvulsive therapy. Brit. J. Psychiat., 125, 490–5.Google Scholar
33 Squire, L. R. (1975) A stable impairment in remote memory following electroconvulsive therapy. Neuropsychologia, 13, 51–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34 Squire, L. R. & Chace, P. M. (1975) Memory functions six to nine months after electroconvulsive therapy. Arch. gen. Psychiat., 32, 1557–64.Google Scholar
35 Hesche, J. & Roeder, E. (1976) Electroconvulsive therapy in Denmark. Brit. J. Psychiat., 128, 241–5.Google Scholar
36 Tomlin, P. J. (1974) Death in an out-patient dental anaesthetic practice. Anaesthesia, 29, 551–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36 Cronholm, B. (1969) Post-ECT amnesia. In The Pathology of Memory (eds G. Tallent & N. C. Waugh). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
36 Williams, M. (1966) Memory disorders associated with ECT. In Amnesia (eds C. Whitty and 0. Zangwill). London: Butterworths.Google Scholar
36 Otfosson, J-O. (1960) Experimental studies of memory impairment after ECT. Ada psychiat. Scand., Suppl 145, 103-27.Google Scholar
36 Gomez, Joan & Dally, P. (1975) Intravenous tranquilization with ECT. Brit. J. Psychiat., 127, 604-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.