International journal of psychiatry in medicine
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Int J Psychiatry Med · Jan 1994
ReviewECT in the treatment of patients with neurological and somatic disease.
An evaluation of the safety and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), for the treatment of patients with severe medical and neurological illness, was undertaken. ⋯ ECT is safe and effective for the treatment of affective and catatonic disorders in patients with most neurological and medical diseases, including elderly and debilitated patients with multiple illnesses, if the specific medical risks are carefully evaluated in each case, and appropriate modifications of technique are used to reduce the risk of potential complications. Apart from its use in psychiatry, ECT has been reported to have therapeutic effects in Parkinson's disease, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, aggressive behavioral disorders following brain injury, certain forms of epilepsy, and some forms of delirium due to toxic or metabolic encephalopathies. The potential for ECT to play an active role in the clinical management of patients with these disorders, many of whom are presently refractory to maximal medical treatment, should be evaluated by systematic studies.
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To study the writing ability pre- and postoperatively in patients undergoing major surgery. ⋯ These results suggest that testing of writing ability may be useful in the diagnosis of delirium. The Delirium Writing Test is proposed as a diagnostic tool.