Seizure Threshold in Electroconvulsive Therapy: III. A
Long-Term Study
WORRAWAT CHANPATTANA, M.D.*,
PISARN TECHAKASEM, M.D.***,
WIWAT YATAPOOTANON, M.D.**,
M.L. SOMCHAI CHAKRABHAND, M.D.**
Affiliation : * Department of Psychiatry, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok I 0300,
** Srithunya Hospital, Nonthaburi 11000,
*** Vajira Hospital, Bangkok 10300, Thailand.
t Supported in part by the Thailand Research Fund grant BRG 3980009.
AbstractThere has been a dearth of long-term studies investigating the seizure-threshold changes
in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This study aimed to determine changes
in seizure threshold over acute, continuation, and maintenance ECT (Phases I, II, and Ill). Twenty
schizophrenic patients were estimated to have a seizure threshold by the dose-titration method.
All patients had a rise in seizure threshold at the end of Phase I with 185 ± 196 per cent incre-
ments. Ten patients had a further threshold-increase at the sixth month (Phase II, n = 20), and four
at the twelfth month (Phase III, n = 14). The overall threshold-increases of Phases II and III were
370 ± 342 per cent and 416 ± 427 per cent, respectively. Seizure-threshold increases were robust
during acute ECT, and tended to reach a plateau over the continuation and maintenance
phases.
Keywords : Electroconvulsive Therapy, Schizophrenia, Changes in Seizure Threshold, Acute and
Maintenance Treatments, Anticonvulsant Effects
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