• M B Weinger, B L Partridge, R Hauger, and A Mirow.
• Department of Anesthesiology, University of California, San Diego.
• Anesth. Analg. 1991 Nov 1;73(5):556-62.

AbstractElectroconvulsive therapy (ECT) under anesthesia is associated with hypertension and tachycardia. The cardiovascular effects of ECT were studied after pre-treatment of 10 patients with esmolol (1.0 mg/kg), fentanyl (1.5 micrograms/kg), labetalol (0.3 mg/kg), lidocaine (1.0 mg/kg), and saline solution (control), using a double-blind, randomized block-design. Each patient received all five pretreatment regimens over the course of five ECT sessions. During control studies, arterial blood pressure and heart rate increased significantly in all patients after ECT (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.01, respectively). The rate-pressure product increased by an average of 336% +/- 14% (P less than 0.01). There were appreciable individual differences in the cardiovascular response to ECT, independent of pretreatment (P less than 0.01). Pretreatment with esmolol and labetalol significantly reduced the hemodynamic response to ECT, compared with fentanyl, lidocaine, or saline solution (P less than 0.05). Esmolol attenuated arterial blood pressure to a larger extent than did labetalol (P less than 0.05). Compared with saline solution (control), pretreatment with labetalol, fentanyl, or lidocaine significantly reduced seizure duration (P less than 0.05) and increased the frequency with which a second electrical stimulus was required. In contrast, esmolol pretreatment did not significantly affect seizure duration. Esmolol (1 mg/kg), administered 1 min before induction of anesthesia, produced significant amelioration of the cardiovascular response to ECT with minimal effect on seizure duration.

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