Where are the electrodes placed in ECT?
In ECT, a voltage is applied to two electrodes placed on the patient’s head. This voltage, as high as 460 volts, creates an electric field inside the patient’s skull. This electric field puts a force on …
What types of stimulus electrodes are used with ECT devices?
What is an ECT device and how does it work?
What is the FDA’s position on ECT?
During the procedure, you’ll have an electromagnetic coil held against your forehead, near a part of your brain involved with mood regulation. Then, short electromagnetic pulses are sent from …
Where are the electrodes placed for ECT?
Depending on the location of the electrodes, ECT is defined as bilateral or uni- lateral. In bilateral ECT, one electrode is placed on the left side of the head, the other on the right side. In unilateral ECT, one electrode is placed at the top (vertex) of the head and the other typically on the right side.
Is ECT delivered through electrodes attached to the head?
With ECT, electrodes are placed on the patient's scalp and a finely controlled electric current is applied while the patient is under general anesthesia. The current causes a brief seizure in the brain. ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal patients.Sep 4, 2020
What are the steps for administering ECT?
Procedure Details
Before ECT treatment, a patient is put to sleep using general anesthesia, and a muscle relaxant is given. ECT causes the patient to have a seizure. Electrodes are placed on the patient's scalp and a finely controlled electric current is applied, which causes a brief seizure in the brain.May 13, 2014
Before ECT treatment, a patient is put to sleep using general anesthesia, and a muscle relaxant is given. ECT causes the patient to have a seizure. Electrodes are placed on the patient's scalp and a finely controlled electric current is applied, which causes a brief seizure in the brain.May 13, 2014
How are patients prepared for electroconvulsive therapy?
Before ECT, patients are asked not to eat or drink from midnight the night before treatment. During the procedure, the patient receives a short acting anesthetic agent which puts the patient to sleep for approximately 5-10 minutes.
What happens during ECT?
WHAT IS ECT? During ECT, a small amount of electrical current is passed through the brain while the patient is under general anesthesia. This current causes a seizure that affects the entire brain, including the parts that control mood, appetite, and sleep.Apr 7, 2021
What is ECT treatment?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a medical treatment most commonly used in patients with severe major depression or bipolar disorder that has not responded to other treatments. ECT involves a brief electrical stimulation of the brain while the patient is under anesthesia.
What should the nurse do prior to ECT?
Pre-treatment Protocol for ECT
Withhold food and fluids for 6 to 8 hours before treatment. Remove dentures, glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, hair pins and etc. Have client void before the treatment.Feb 4, 2014
Withhold food and fluids for 6 to 8 hours before treatment. Remove dentures, glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, hair pins and etc. Have client void before the treatment.Feb 4, 2014
Overview
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental health conditions. ECT often works when other treatments are unsucce...
Why It's Done
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can provide rapid, significant improvements in severe symptoms of several mental health conditions. ECT is used to treat: 1. Severe depression,particularly when accompanied by detachment from reality (psychosis), a desire to commit suicide or refusal to eat. 2. Treatment-resistant depression,a severe depression that doesn't improve with medications o…
Risks
- Although ECT is generally safe, risks and side effects may include: 1. Confusion.Immediately after treatment, you may experience confusion, which can last from a few minutes to several hours. You may not know where you are or why you're there. Rarely, confusion may last several days or longer. Confusion is generally more noticeable in older adults. 2. Memory loss.Some people hav…
How You Prepare
- Before having your first ECT treatment, you'll need a full evaluation, which usually includes: 1. Medical history 2. Complete physical exam 3. Psychiatric assessment 4. Basic blood tests 5. Electrocardiogram (ECG) to check your heart health 6. Discussion of the risks of anesthesia These exams help make sure that ECT is safe for you.
What You Can Expect
- The ECT procedure takes about five to 10 minutes, with added time for preparation and recovery. ECT can be done while you're hospitalized or as an outpatient procedure.
Results
- Many people begin to notice an improvement in their symptoms after about six treatments with electroconvulsive therapy. Full improvement may take longer, though ECT may not work for everyone. Response to antidepressant medications, in comparison, can take several weeks or more. No one knows for certain how ECT helps treat severe depression and other mental illness…
Medical Use
ECT is used, where possible, with informed consent in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, treatment-resistant catatonia, prolonged or severe mania, and in conditions where "there is a need for rapid, definitive response because of the severity of a psychiatric or medical condition (e.g., when illness is characteriz…
Effects
- Aside from effects in the brain, the general physical risks of ECT are similar to those of brief general anesthesia; the US Surgeon General's report says that there are "no absolute health contraindications" to its use.: 259 Immediately following treatment, the most common adverse effects are confusion and memory loss. Some patients experience muscle soreness after ECT. …
Procedure
- The placement of electrodes, as well as the dose and duration of the stimulation is determined on a per-patient basis.: 1881 In unilateral ECT, both electrodes are placed on the same side of the patient's head. Unilateral ECT may be used first to minimize side effects such as memory loss. In bilateral ECT, the two electrodes are placed on opposite sides of the head. Usually bitemporal pl…
Mechanism of Action
- Despite decades of research, the exact mechanism of action of ECT remains elusive. Neuroimaging studies in people who have had ECT, investigating differences between responders and nonresponders, and people who relapse, find that responders have anticonvulsant effects mostly in the frontal lobes, which corresponds to immediate responses, and neurotrophic effect…
Use
- As of 2001, it was estimated that about one million people received ECT annually. There is wide variation in ECT use between different countries, different hospitals, and different psychiatrists.International practice varies considerably from widespread use of the therapy in many Western countries to a small minority of countries that do not use ECT at all, such as Slov…
History
- As early as the 16th century, agents to induce seizures were used to treat psychiatric conditions. In 1785, the therapeutic use of seizure induction was documented in the London Medical and Surgical Journal. As to its earliest antecedents one doctor claims 1744 as the dawn of electricity's therapeutic use, as documented in the first issue of Electricity and Medicine. Treatment and cur…
Society and Culture
- Controversy
Surveys of public opinion, the testimony of former patients, legal restrictions on the use of ECT and disputes as to the efficacy, ethics and adverse effects of ECT within the psychiatric and wider medical community indicate that the use of ECT remains controversial. This is reflected in the J… - Public perception
A questionnaire survey of 379 members of the general public in Australia indicated that more than 60% of respondents had some knowledge about the main aspects of ECT. Participants were generally opposed to the use of ECT on depressed individuals with psychosocial issues, on child…
Special Populations
- Sex difference
Throughout the history of ECT, women have received it two to three times as often as men. Currently, about 70 percent of ECT patients are women. This may be due to the fact that women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression. A 1974 study of ECT in Massachusetts reporte…
See Also
External Links
- Position Statement on Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) 2015 – from the American Psychiatric Association.
- ECT- information from mental health charity The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Electroconvulsive Therapy
- ECT is a procedure where controlled electric currents are passed through the brain while the person is under general anesthesia. This results in a brief, controlled seizure that affects neurons and chemicals in the brain. It is most often used to treat severe depression and depression with psychosis that has not responded to medications. In some cases of treatment resistant bipolar …
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
- TMS is a procedure that creates magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression. With TMS, a large electromagnetic coil is placed on a person’s forehead and short pulses are directed into an area of the brain believed to control moods. The doctor performing the treatment will determine the amount of magnetic ...
Other Brain Stimulation Therapies
- ECT and TMS are the most widely used brain stimulation therapies, but there are two other options available. However, they have not been widely studied and their effectiveness remains unclear.