Psychiatry Investig.  2017 Sep;14(5):647-655. 10.4306/pi.2017.14.5.647.

Effects of Psychotropic Drugs on Seizure Threshold during Electroconvulsive Therapy

• Chi SH
• Jeong HG
• Lee S
• Oh SY
• Kim SH

• KMID: 2395488
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2017.14.5.647

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To analyze the relationship between seizure threshold (ST) and psychotropic drugs in patients treated with ECT.
METHODS
We examined clinical data from 43 patients. ST was titrated at each treatment session. We examined associations between ST and psychotropic drugs using multivariate correlation analyses. Data are presented as initial ST, the difference in ST between the first and 10th sessions (ΔST(10th)), and the mean difference in ST between the first and last sessions (mean ΔST(last)).
RESULTS
Multivariate regression analyses showed associations between initial ST and the total chlorpromazine-equivalent dose of antipsychotics (β=0.363, p<0.05). The total fluoxetine-equivalent dose of antidepressants was associated with ΔST(10th) (β=0.486, p<0.01) and mean ΔST(last) (β=0.472, p<0.01).
CONCLUSION
Our study elucidated possible effects of psychotropic drugs on ST shifts. Larger doses of antipsychotics were associated with higher initial ST, whereas higher doses of antidepressants were associated with stronger shifts in ST.

Keyword

Electroconvulsive therapy; Seizure threshold; Antipsychotics; Antidepressants

MeSH Terms

Antidepressive Agents
Antipsychotic Agents
Electroconvulsive Therapy*
Humans
Psychotropic Drugs*
Seizures*
Antidepressive Agents
Antipsychotic Agents
Psychotropic Drugs