N Tørring1,2, S N Sanghani3,4, G Petrides3,4, C H Kellner5, S D Østergaard1,2. 1. Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Risskov, Denmark. 2. Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark. 3. The Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health System, Glen Oaks, NY, USA. 4. Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY, USA. 5. Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains underutilized because of fears of cognitive and medical risks, including the risk of death. In this study, we aimed to assess the mortality rate of ECT by means of a systematic review and pooled analysis. METHOD: The study was conducted in adherence with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. The ECT-related mortality rate was calculated as the total number of ECT-related deaths reported in the included studies divided by the total number of ECT treatments. RESULTS: Fifteen studies with data from 32 countries reporting on a total of 766 180 ECT treatments met the inclusion criteria. Sixteen cases of ECT-related death were reported in the included studies yielding an ECT-related mortality rate of 2.1 per 100 000 treatments (95% CI: 1.2-3.4). In the nine studies that were published after 2001 (covering 414 747 treatments), there was only one reported ECT-related death. CONCLUSION: The ECT-related mortality rate was estimated at 2.1 per 100 000 treatments. In comparison, a recent analysis of the mortality of general anesthesia in relation to surgical procedures reported a mortality rate of 3.4 per 100 000. Our findings document that death caused by ECT is an extremely rare event.
OBJECTIVE: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains underutilized because of fears of cognitive and medical risks, including the risk of death. In this study, we aimed to assess the mortality rate of ECT by means of a systematic review and pooled analysis. METHOD: The study was conducted in adherence with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. The ECT-related mortality rate was calculated as the total number of ECT-related deaths reported in the included studies divided by the total number of ECT treatments. RESULTS: Fifteen studies with data from 32 countries reporting on a total of 766 180 ECT treatments met the inclusion criteria. Sixteen cases of ECT-related death were reported in the included studies yielding an ECT-related mortality rate of 2.1 per 100 000 treatments (95% CI: 1.2-3.4). In the nine studies that were published after 2001 (covering 414 747 treatments), there was only one reported ECT-related death. CONCLUSION: The ECT-related mortality rate was estimated at 2.1 per 100 000 treatments. In comparison, a recent analysis of the mortality of general anesthesia in relation to surgical procedures reported a mortality rate of 3.4 per 100 000. Our findings document that death caused by ECT is an extremely rare event.
Authors: James Luccarelli; Claudia Fernandez-Robles; Carlos Fernandez-Robles; Ryan J Horvath; Sheri Berg; Thomas H McCoy; Stephen J Seiner; Michael E Henry Journal: Psychother Psychosom Date: 2020-06-18 Impact factor: 17.659
Authors: Søren D Østergaard; Maria S Speed; Charles H Kellner; Martina Mueller; Shawn M McClintock; Mustafa M Husain; Georgios Petrides; William V McCall; Sarah H Lisanby Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2020-05-23 Impact factor: 4.839
Authors: Takahiro Soda; Declan M McLoughlin; Scott R Clark; Leif Oltedal; Ute Kessler; Jan Haavik; Chad Bousman; Daniel J Smith; Miquel Bioque; Caitlin C Clements; Colleen Loo; Fidel Vila-Rodriguez; Alessandra Minelli; Brian J Mickey; Roumen Milev; Anna R Docherty; Julie Langan Martin; Eric D Achtyes; Volker Arolt; Ronny Redlich; Udo Dannlowski; Narcis Cardoner; Emily Clare; Nick Craddock; Arianna Di Florio; Monika Dmitrzak-Weglarz; Liz Forty; Katherine Gordon-Smith; Mustafa Husain; Wendy M Ingram; Lisa Jones; Ian Jones; Mario Juruena; George Kirov; Mikael Landén; Daniel J Müller; Axel Nordensköld; Erik Pålsson; Meethu Paul; Agnieszka Permoda; Bartlomiej Pliszka; Jamie Rea; Klaus O Schubert; Joshua A Sonnen; Virginia Soria; Will Stageman; Akihiro Takamiya; Mikel Urretavizacaya; Stuart Watson; Maxim Zavorotny; Allan H Young; Eduard Vieta; Janusz K Rybakowski; Massimo Gennarelli; Peter P Zandi; Patrick F Sullivan; Bernhard T Baune Journal: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Date: 2019-12-04 Impact factor: 5.270
Authors: James Luccarelli; Thomas H McCoy; Alec P Shannon; Brent P Forester; Stephen J Seiner; Michael E Henry Journal: J ECT Date: 2021-12-01 Impact factor: 3.692