ISSN:
1573-6709
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Summary and Conclusions In 825 patients treated with convulsive therapy over a period of seven years, four fatalities were encountered. One of the four cases was lost through suicide; in two, the death could not be directly attributed to the treatment; only one patient was lost as a direct result of electric shock treatment combined with curare. In this patient, all evidence seems to point to the curare, with its attendant respiratory paralysis, as the direct cause of death. Forty-four patients in the old-age group were treated successfully with electric shock or metrazol, the oldest being 75. Six successfully-treated cases, with their physical findings on admission, have been reported in detail. Those cases, showing the usually accepted contraindications to convulsive therapy, have been presented in this report. The impression is gained that, in spite of such serious physical findings, convulsive therapy can be successfully instituted.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01561321
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