The dexamethasone suppression test and ECT outcome: a six-month follow-up.

In an earlier report, the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) predicted globally rated outcome at discharge in 42 patients treated with ECT. To determine the predictive value of the DST following discharge we reevaluated these patients 6 months after admission. Suppressors and nonsuppressors did not differ in any of the follow-up measures; DST results added very little to the variance accounted for by diagnosis, age, and episode duration. Surprisingly, patients whose DST had converted at discharge from abnormal to normal were less likely to have sustained remission during follow-up than were patients whose DST had remained abnormal.