Clinical measurement of the time to re-orientation in electroconvulsive therapy for a depressive episode
Abstrakt
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an important modality in the treatment of a wide range of serious neuropsychiatric disorders. Its role is irreplaceable and even life-saving.
The use of ECT used to be associated with transient cognitive impairment (TCI) (currently considered a side effect). The importance of individual current parameters (seizure threshold, seizure duration, frequency, current amplitude, duration of stimulation, and pulse width) has been taken into account by many research efforts in recent years, mainly their influence on efficacy and occurrence of side effects (SE).
The time to reorientation (or time to recovery, TTR) is a very simple parameter to measure, which has predictive value for the TCI. The common clinical measurement of TTR is an example of good practice.