What is MECT?Modified electroconvulsive therapy is used to treat severe depression, mania and certain types of schizophrenia. Each treatment involves inducing a seizure in the brain by giving the body a short period of electrical stimulation with a limited amount of current. Studies have confirmed that such seizures cause certain biochemical changes to occur in the body, resulting in a reduction or even disappearance of psychiatric symptoms. To achieve good results, a course of treatment is usually done 10-12 times, and the number of treatments can be increased or decreased depending on the needs of the condition. How is MECT performed?
MECT is usually done three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and up to five times during the first week of treatment, depending on the needs of the patient. It is important to note that the person receiving treatment must abstain from food and water from 12:00 midnight until the next morning. Intravenous medication is needed to put the patient to sleep before the start of the treatment to ensure muscle relaxation during the subsequent treatment. The doctors and nurses who perform the treatment are specially trained and experienced, and use advanced treatment equipment imported from abroad. During the treatment, the patient is led into the treatment room and laid down on a comfortable treatment trolley as required. The nurse applies the patient’s side blood pressure, electrodes of ECG, EEG and oxygen saturation monitor to the patient’s head, chest and fingers, and then injects the pre-treatment medication intravenously and supplies oxygen through oxygen breathing, and the patient falls asleep quickly as the anesthetic is administered, followed by the intravenous injection of muscle relaxant, and the whole body muscles will relax within 1 to 3 minutes. Subsequently, a controlled electrical stimulus of variable duration from 1 to 6 seconds is applied through two electrodes to induce a seizure, during which the muscle twitch response is greatly reduced and few body movements are usually observed due to the previously injected muscle relaxant. A few minutes after the seizure, when spontaneous breathing returns to normal, the patient will be taken to the observation room and will awaken within about 5 to 10 minutes. Due to the effects of the anesthetic and the seizure, the patient will experience temporary weakness. After 20-30 minutes of observation, when the patient has fully recovered without significant discomfort, the inpatient will be sent back to the ward, and the outpatient will be transferred to another recovery room for a further period of observation before leaving the hospital (the total time required before and after is approximately 1 hour or a little longer). How effective is MECT? Despite recent advances in the treatment of mental disorders, MECT remains the most effective, fastest-acting, and safest for patients with certain types of disorders, especially when used as an alternative to medications that are ineffective and unsafe. MECT is effective in 50-90% of patients with major depression. In addition, although a course of MECT can end a single episode of illness, it does not prevent a recurrence of illness for weeks, months, or years thereafter. Therefore, continued treatment after MECT needs to be considered, including medication, psychotherapy or MECT maintenance (low frequency MECT for outpatients). Is MECT safe? There are risks and adverse effects associated with any treatment.
MECT treatment requires a systematic physical, psychiatric and laboratory examination of the patient prior to treatment to ensure the safest and most effective implementation of treatment. Also, medication can be adjusted to improve efficacy and reduce risk. For most patients, the adverse effects of
Serious complications are rare and include transient or persistent cardiac damage, reactions to in-treatment medications (anesthetics, inotropes), damage to muscles, bones or other parts of the body, persistent seizures or post-treatment reoccurrences. The more common adverse reactions are headache and nausea, which are usually mild and can be prevented or reduced by medication. Confusion and memory difficulties can be seen for more than one course of treatment, but the symptoms resolve as soon as treatment ends. Furthermore, because psychiatric symptoms themselves often impair memory function, it has been reported that some patients successfully treated with MECT can actually recover their memory. What about anesthesia? As mentioned above, MECT is performed with intravenous general anesthesia. The anesthesia will be administered by a dedicated anesthesiologist. The administration of anesthesia is both necessary for this treatment and carries possible risks, including anesthetic accidents and complications such as anesthetic allergy, dental injury, aspiration, asphyxia, respiratory arrest, myocardial infarction, and cerebral infarction. All of these conditions, if they occur, can lead to organ dysfunction or failure, or even death. Of course, the first is that the incidence of the above-mentioned accidents and complications is extremely low (the anesthesia time in this treatment is very short and the method is relatively simple), and the second is that we have the appropriate resuscitation measures in place. Important: If you have any further questions about MECT, please feel free to ask your doctor. You should be aware that you or your legal guardian’s consent must be obtained prior to receiving treatment and that you or your legal guardian has the right to request termination of treatment at any time during the course of treatment.