¿Es bioéticamente adecuada la aplicación de la terapia electroconvulsiva? / Is Ethic the use of electoconvulsive therapy?

La terapia electroconvulsiva (TEC) es una herramienta terapéutica efectiva y segura ampliamente utilizada en varios países como tratamiento de múltiples patologías mentales, incluyendo algunas de alta prevalencia como el trastorno depresivo mayor. Sin embargo por sus antecedentes, técnicas inapropiadas de aplicación, efectos secundarios e incluso casos de muerte asociada al procedimiento, se ha fomentado su estigmatización, desuso y cuestionamiento de su validez bioética. A continuación se expone la revisión teórica de los principales componentes de la TEC y la posterior discusión de los aspectos bioéticos que implica su uso, con el fin de proponer una respuesta a los conflictos bioéticos que encierra su aplicación

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective and safety medical procedure, broadly utilized in several countries for the treatment of multiple mental disorders, including major depressive disorder, which is a prevalent disease. However, due the records of their use, technical inappropriate of application, adverse effects and even cases of death associated to the procedure, it has been stigmatized, disused and considered unethical treatment. This paper reviews the main components of ECT and discuss in it is a bioethical treatment

I'm shocked: informed consent in ECT and the phenomenological-self.

This paper argues that phenomenological insights regarding selfhood are relevant to the informed consent process in the treatment of depression using electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). One of the most significant side-effects associated with ECT is retrograde amnesia. Unfortunately, the current informed consent model does not adequately appreciate the full extent in which memory loss disturbs lived-experience. Through the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, it is possible to appreciate the way in which memory loss affects a person's self-experience, with emphasis given to one's pre-reflective and embodied, relationship with things in the world. This paper aims to demonstrate that proper informed consent should acknowledge the extent to which repeated ECT treatments affect a patient's sense self.

[Is Ethic the Use of Electroconvulsive Therapy?] / ¿Es Bioéticamente Adecuada la Aplicación de la Terapia Electroconvulsiva?

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective and safety medical procedure, broadly utilized in several countries for the treatment of multiple mental disorders, including major depressive disorder, which is a prevalent disease. However, due the records of their use, technical inappropriate of application, adverse effects and even cases of death associated to the procedure, it has been stigmatized, disused and considered unethical treatment. This paper reviews the main components of ECT and discuss in it is a bioethical treatment.

[Treatment against the patient's will exemplified by electroconvulsive therapy : Clinical, legal and ethical aspects]. / Behandlung gegen den natürlichen Willen am Beispiel der Elektrokonvulsionstherapie : Klinische, juristische und ethische Aspekte.

BACKGROUND: Severe affective and psychotic disorders may be accompanied by legal incapacity. If in this case the patient refuses treatment and in parallel there is a risk of serious damage to health, treatment can be carried out against the patient's non-autonomous will under defined prerequisites. Due to its good and partly superior effectiveness in the treatment of severe and pharmacotherapy-resistant affective and psychotic disorders, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an important treatment option in such constellations. AIM: Description of the general principles and prerequisites of therapeutic measures against the patient's will. METHODS: Based on a case report, the application of ECT as a medical measure against the patient's will is discussed and assessed in an interdisciplinary approach from clinical, legal, and ethical perspectives. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The (empirical) evidence on the general effectiveness of ECT, as well as its application against the will of patients with legal incapacity, clearly shows a positive benefit-risk ratio. When performed against the patient's will, ECT as all compulsory medical interventions, represents a severe encroachment on the individual's fundamental rights of both physical integrity and self-determination. Nevertheless, its application may be medically indicated, legally admissible and ethically appropriate in individual cases to prevent the threat of serious damage to the patient's health. Ethical and legal prerequisites of treatment against the patient's will should be evaluated by a multiprofessional team and the patient's legal guardian should be involved from an early stage.

I had no other option: Women, electroconvulsive therapy, and informed consent.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a controversial procedure used in the management of depression. Whilst it may be administered under mental health legislation, it is usually given to people who voluntarily consent. At the practice level, the consent process for ECT requires a detailed explanation of the procedure. The person consenting must have capacity to make this decision, and consent must be given freely and without coercion. Research using a feminist narrative approach unexpectedly highlighted the issue of potential coercion in the context of explaining the procedure. In-depth interviews were used to understand seven women's accounts of deciding to receive ECT. A thematic analysis of their narratives uncovered a shared concern with how they consented to the treatment. Four subthemes were identified that related to the way in which they provided their consent: (i) 'Not enough information'; (ii) 'I had no other choice'; (iii) 'Just go along with it'; and (iv) 'Lacking capacity'. A consent process that includes elements of passive coercion and a lack of timely and appropriate information influences the way some women make decisions. These factors can disempower women at the point of decision-making. A practice shift is needed where women are enabled to have control over decisions. Further, there is a need to adhere more rigorously to noncoercive practice when obtaining consent.

Electroconvulsive therapy against the patients' will: A case series.

OBJECTIVES: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective therapy for severe depressive and psychotic disorders. As patients may be subject to legal incapacity and lack of insight, treatment may be administered against the patient's will. There is only limited evidence on the use of ECT against the patient's non-autonomous will. METHODS: We report a series of eight patients who received ECT against their will in two German university medical hospitals between 2014 and 2016. The effectiveness, tolerability and patients' perspective are described. RESULTS: Seven of eight patients were much or very much improved according to the Clinical Global Impression Scale. Capacity to consent was restored in seven patients. Transient side effects occurred in four patients. Seven patients agreed to receive further ECT in the treatment course. CONCLUSIONS: This case series suggests that ECT may (and sometimes should) be administered to severely ill, non-consenting patients against their will with good effectiveness. Potential and mostly moderate and transient side effects have to be weighed up against the potentially life-saving character of ECT in patients with, e.g., suicidality and food refusal. Most importantly, the patients' retrospective appraisal also justifies the administration of ECT in situations of severe mental illness and legal incapacity.

[Electroconvulsive therapy in nonconsenting patients]. / Elektrokonvulsionstherapie gegen den natürlichen Patientenwillen.

BACKGROUND: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a potent and successful method for the treatment of severe psychiatric disorders. Severe depressive and psychotic disorders may lead to legal incapacity and inability to consent. In Germany, administration of ECT against the patient's will is feasible under certain constellations and is regulated under the terms of the guardianship law. OBJECTIVE: This article outlines the prevalence, effectiveness and tolerability of ECT when applied in nonconsenting patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Case report and literature review. RESULTS: The literature on ECT as a treatment in nonconsenting patients is relatively sparse. In 2008 the prevalence in Germany was less than 0.5 % of all patients receiving ECT. Case reports and case series suggest a good and equal level of effectiveness when compared to consenting patients. In the course of treatment the majority of patients consented to receive further ECT and retrospectively judged ECT as helpful. CONCLUSION: The use of ECT is a highly effective treatment in severe psychiatric disorders even when administered as treatment in nonconsenting patients. It can be lifesaving and lead to a rapid improvement of symptoms and relief from severe suffering also from the patients' perspective. Thus, it seems unethical not to consider ECT as a treatment against the nonautonomous will of legally incompetent patients in individual cases. Nevertheless, physicians should always seek to obtain the patients' consent as soon as possible for both legal and ethical reasons.

[Ethical principles in electronvulsivotherapy]. / Les principes éthiques de l'électroconvulsivotherapie.

ECT or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a therapeutic technique invented in 1935 but which was really developed after World War II and then spreading widely until the mid 1960s. The source of this technique, and some forms of stigma including films, have participated widely to make it suspect from a moral point of view. The ethical principles that support the establishment of a treatment by ECT are those relating to any action in psychiatry and are based on the one hand on the founding principles of bioethics: autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and justice, and on the other hand on the information on the technical and consent to this type of care.

The Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy in US Correctional Facilities: A Nationwide Survey.

OBJECTIVES: There are little data regarding the practice of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in correctional settings in the United States. A survey was conducted to study the current practice of ECT in US prisons. We hypothesize that ECT is underutilized in the correctional setting. We also review the ethical aspects of using ECT for the treatment of mental illness in the prison population. METHODS: A 12-question survey via a Survey Monkey link was emailed to chiefs of psychiatry, or the equivalent, of each state's department of corrections. We examined the frequency of Likert-type responses, tabulated individual comments for qualitative review, and grouped for comparison. RESULTS: Email contacts for chiefs of psychiatry, or the equivalent, for the department of corrections in 45 states (90%) were obtained and a survey link was sent. Thirty-one (68.9%) of 45 responded to the survey. Respondent estimates of the number of inmates with mental illness in 31 prison systems varied from less than 500 to more than 4500. Of these 31, 12 (38.7%) had more than 4500 inmates with mental illness. Four systems reported the use of ECT within the last 5 years. Of those, one reported use in the last 1 to 6 months, and 3 reported use in the last 2 to 5 years. Of these 4 prison systems, all felt that they had up to 10 patients who would benefit if ECT continued to be offered or became available in the future. None of these systems provided ECT within the prison. The inmates were referred to a local state psychiatric facility, a university hospital, or other institutions. The reasons for not using ECT as reported by the respondents are grouped under subheadings of stigma, ethical concerns, logistical concerns, and others. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the high prevalence of mental illness in prisons, one might expect a high prevalence of ECT responsive mental illness and, hence, provision of ECT to some prisoners with mental illness. However, our survey suggests that the use of ECT in prisons in the United States is low. Stigma, ethical concerns, and logistical concerns were the main hindrances for providing ECT to prisoners with mental illness. Given that ECT is the standard of care in certain clinical scenarios, physicians are obligated to offer such treatment to inmates when necessary. It can be argued that failure of the prison to offer the standard of care is unethical and unconstitutional.

Informed consent and ECT: how much information should be provided?

Obtaining informed consent before providing treatment is a routine part of modern clinical practice. For some treatments, however, there may be disagreement over the requirements for 'informed' consent. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one such example. Blease argues that patients 'should surely be privy to the matters of fact that: (1) there is continued controversy over the effectiveness of ECT; (2) there is orthodox scientific consensus that there is currently no acknowledged explanation for ECT and (3) there is a serious (mainstream) debate over whether the response to ECT may be a placebo response.' Before embracing these suggestions, two key questions must be asked. Are these claims a reasonable representation of current ECT research? And if so, will this information be of benefit to patients? The evidence-based support for ECT from both National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Royal College of Psychiatrists appears to undermine the validity of claims (1) and (3), and therefore the rationale for providing this information. Concerning assertion (2), it is true that the mechanism by which ECT has its therapeutic effect is not yet established, although the importance of conveying this fact to the patient is questionable. Of greater certainty is that the same irresolution surrounds the mechanism of action of pharmaceutical antidepressants, and so a double standard in patient care should be mindfully avoided if provision of this information is deemed a prerequisite for proper 'informed' consent.

Unmodified electroconvulsive therapy: a false dilemma.

A recent statement commissioned by the Indian Association of Private Psychiatry recommends that unmodified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) should still be used in some settings in India, invoking the principle of beneficence. This paper critically analyses the IAPP statement in terms of both scientific accuracy and ethical principles. It is found that the statement falls short of the ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. It is the duty of psychiatrists and psychiatric associations to offer the best available care to their patients, both on scientific and ethical grounds.

Electroconvulsive therapy without consent from patients: one-year follow-up study.

INTRODUCTION: No previous study has been designed to analyze the reasons for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) without patients' consent. In the present study we compared the clinical characteristics and one-year outcomes between patients with refusal to undergo ECT and patients without competency for ECT consent. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study, 29 patients were treated with ECT without providing consent between 1 January 2006 and 31 August 2010. A surrogate family member gave informed consent for ECT to meet current legal requirements. Patients were assigned to one of two groups: a consent-refusal group comprising patients who refused to give consent for ECT and could clearly say "no" or argue with psychiatric staff about receiving ECT; and a consent-incompetent group comprising patients who were incompetent for consent but underwent ECT passively or reluctantly without argument. RESULTS: The patients were clinically diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder (n = 6), psychotic disorder (n = 12), bipolar I disorder (n = 8) and major depressive disorder with psychotic features (n = 3). The consent-incompetent patients had longer hospital stays and more recurrence in one year than the consent-refusal patients, which may be because the former group had more psychotic disorders and fewer mood disorders. All patients improved rapidly and efficiently. However, remission was temporal in two-thirds of patients and the rehospitalization rate in one year was 66% (n = 19). DISCUSSION: ECT can be applied early, emergently and successfully to patients who have a wide range of psychiatric disorders and life-threatening conditions without threat of lawsuits, even during their first hospitalization.

[Psychiatry]. / Psychiatrie.

Contemporary psychiatry uses a variety of complementary approaches which enrich one another. In this paper, we describe the development of a brief psychodynamic approach for hospitalized patients with major depression, as well as the recent commercialization of an atypical neuroleptic depot medication. In addition, we discuss electro-convulsotherapy which, despite it has been widely and understandably condemned on the basis of its abusive and non medical application in certain political contexts, deserves objective assessment on the basis of scientific data stemming from recent research suggesting it is in some contexts a valuable tool.

Informed consent for special procedures: electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Informed consent has become the cornerstone of the expression of patient's autonomy for ethical and sound patient-physician relationships. However, some severe psychiatric diseases markedly hinder the ability of selected patients to ensure a proper consent. Confronted with mentally disabled individuals whose condition may lead to violence or inflicting it on others, society must carry out its duty of protecting those who are particularly vulnerable, while respecting and protecting these disabled individuals. RECENT FINDINGS: The recent update in the indications and more detailed understanding of electroconvulsive therapy, and the technical ability of obtaining less invasive or reversible techniques of psychosurgery, has renewed interest in these impressive and efficient techniques. Specifically, the emergence of new and promising cerebral neurostimulation techniques for treating Parkinson's disease have led to considering their extension to severe psychiatric disorders. This method can mimic the effects of 'conventional' psychosurgery, but in a potentially reversible and adaptable way, thus avoiding many undesirable side-effects of lesional surgery. Ensuring an ethical decision-making process and the appropriateness of consent becomes of paramount importance. SUMMARY: Consent can be relatively easy to secure in selected patients who are often fully aware of their torments (such as those suffering from severe refractory depression of obsessive-compulsive disorders) whose suffering may be such that they are ready to accept, or for that matter demand, such actions. However, the duty of physicians is to realize that pains should always be taken to do as much good (and as little harm) as possible, while respecting the freedom of decision of those who seek to help.

Electroconvulsive therapy, the placebo effect and informed consent.

Major depressive disorder is not only the most widespread mental disorder in the world, it is a disorder on the rise. In cases of particularly severe forms of depression, when all other treatment options have failed, the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a recommended treatment option for patients. ECT has been in use in psychiatric practice for over 70 years and is now undergoing something of a restricted renaissance following a sharp decline in its use in the 1970s. Despite its success in treating severe depression there is continued debate as to the effectiveness of ECT: in some studies, it is argued that ECT is marginally more effective than sham ECT. In addition, there is still no clear explanation of how ECT works; among the range of hypotheses proposed it is claimed that ECT may work by harnessing placebo effects. In light of the uncertainties over the mechanism of action of ECT and given the risk of serious side effects that ECT may produce, I contend that the process of informed consent must include comprehensive accounts of these uncertainties. I examine the possible consequences of providing adequate information to potential ECT patients, including the consideration that ECT may still prove to be effective even if physicians are open about the possibility of it working as a placebo. I conclude that if we value patient autonomy as well as the professional reputation of medical practitioners, a fuller description of ECT must be provided to patients and their carers.

Is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ever ethically justified? If so, under what circumstances.

The debate about ECT in Ireland in recent times has been vibrant and often polarised. The uniqueness of the Irish situation is that the psychiatric profession is protected by legislation whereby ECT treatment can be authorized by two consultant psychiatrists without the consent of the patient. This paper will consider if ECT is ever ethically justified, and if so, under what circumstances. The proposal is to investigate ECT from an ethical perspective with reference to the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. The enquiry will begin with an historical context to the origin and development of ECT as a treatment for severe mental illness. The application of various ethical principles will be considered in conjunction with the relevant literature before arriving at a conclusion.