Understanding How Anaesthesia Affects ECT Outcomes

The University of New South Wales

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 3

Conditions: Depression

Treatments: Other: Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) time interval + Anaesthetic (Thiopentone)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03105245

HREC16952

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will examine how anaesthetic technique affects ECT outcomes. Specifically, the investigators will examine how: 1) the time interval between anaesthetic and ECT stimulus, and 2) the ventilation rate before ECT stimulus, impacts on the quality of the EEG (this is a recording of brain activity during ECT and is used to judge the quality of a seizure and to guide individual patient dosing).

Full description

This study aims to examine how the time interval between administration of anaesthetic agent and ECT stimulus delivery impacts upon measures of EEG quality (seizure quality).

Enrollment: 54 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients treated with a course of ECT

Exclusion criteria

• Use of non-standard anaesthetic agents in ECT (e.g. ketamine)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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54 participants in 4 patient groups

Short time interval + Normal ventilation

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) time interval + Anaesthetic (Thiopentone)

Short time interval + Hyperventilation

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) time interval + Anaesthetic (Thiopentone)

Long time interval + Normal ventilation

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) time interval + Anaesthetic (Thiopentone)

Long time interval + Hyperventilation

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) time interval + Anaesthetic (Thiopentone)