Electroconvulsive therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Sandeep Grover; Preeti Sinha; Swapnajeet Sahoo; Shyamsundar Arumugham; Sachin Baliga; Subho Chakrabarti; Jagadisha Thirthalli

doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_335_20

Electroconvulsive therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Indian J Psychiatry. 2020 Sep-Oct;62(5):582-584. doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_335_20. Epub 2020 Oct 10.

Authors

Sandeep Grover¹, Preeti Sinha², Swapnajeet Sahoo¹, Shyamsundar Arumugham², Sachin Baliga³, Subho Chakrabarti¹, Jagadisha Thirthalli²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
² Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
³ Department of Psychiatry, TN Medical College and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

PMID: 33678842
PMCID: PMC7909042
DOI: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_335_20

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced substantial changes in the practice of psychiatry, including that of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). There is higher risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during ECT unless due care is taken. However, in many cases, ECT cannot be avoided. In this paper, we discuss various measures that may be adapted to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus during ECT. We also suggest certain modifications to the practice of ECT in order to achieve a balance between risks and benefits of the procedure during the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; electroconvulsive therapy; pandemic.