Five years of ECT: The relationship between consent status and treatment experiences

Objectives: ECT has received limited systematic study in the Irish setting. Amendments to the Mental Health Act (2001) propose limiting the use of ECT to patients who can provide written informed consent. We report on the use of ECT in Limerick specifically addressing the issue of patient consent and how it relates to response rate. Method: Since 2003, the use of ECT within Limerick Mental Health Services has been monitored by a data gathering process that includes the documentation of mood disturbance before and after the procedure. Results: In the five years between 2003 and 2007, 153 courses of ECT were given to 126 different patients (frequency 16.7/100,000; Female:Male = 2:1). The principal indication for ECT was depressive illness (95%). Bilateral electrode application was the preferred mode comprising 83% of use. A total of 60% experienced at least a 50% reduction in MADRS score over the course of ECT with 78% experiencing a reduction of 10 points or more on the MADRS. Higher response rate was linked to use of bilateral ECT (p = 0.007; 95% CI 1.3-13.6). A total of 14% of patients were unable to provide written informed consent and these patients had more severe depression at outset (p = 0.007; 95% CI 1.8-11.1) and a trend towards greater reduction in MADRS scores during ECT (p = 0.08). The commonest adverse incident associated with ECT was cognitive impairment (33 patients). The risk of cognitive problems was not related to age, ECT dose, number of treatments, severity of depressive symptoms, treatment response, or consent status.Conclusions: Frequency of use, response and adverse effect rates for ECT in Limerick Mental Health Services are similar to other centres. Cognitive impairment was the most frequent adverse event. The choice of electrode placement for ECT requires further consideration. Restricting ECT to patients that can provide written informed consent would prevent its use in many patients with severe illness who experience significant response to treatment.