ECT in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ramakrishnan, Venkata Subramanian; Kim, Young Kwang; Yung, Wanda; Mayur, Prashanth
• Is Part Of: Australasian psychiatry. Volume 28:Number 5(2020:Oct.)
• Page Start: 527
• Page End: 529
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- electroconvulsive therapy -- personal protective equipment -- aerosol-generating procedure; Psychiatry -- Australasia -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; 616.89005
• DOI: 10.1177/1039856220953705
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1039-8562

Abstract

Objective: The recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has placed a huge burden on healthcare systems worldwide. This emergent situation applies invariably to mental health services, and policy makers have issued new directives to adequately deal with this crisis. The COVID-19 outbreak poses special challenges to the administration of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) since the anaesthetic induction is an aerosol-generating process. The report provides a narrative account of modifications to the ECT practice at a tertiary care psychiatric hospital to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Conclusion: We emphasise two main modifications: use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the ECT and modifications in the anaesthetic procedure to mitigate potential transmission.