Case study: ECT treatment of a young girl with catatonia.

This article reports a case of major depression with catatonic symptoms which occurred in an 8 1/2-year-old girl. While taking oral antidepressants, her symptoms worsened markedly, and significant physical morbidity appeared imminent. Electroconvulsive therapy was successful in treating the patient's catatonic and mood symptoms, with no observable deleterious effects. Review of the English-language literature reveals no younger patients ever reported to have presented with such severe catatonia or to have been treated with electroconvulsive therapy.