Elektroconvulsietherapie bij depressieve adolescenten

Two patients, young women aged 15 and 17, both suffering from major depression with psychotic features, were resistant to treatment with antidepressive regimen and psychotherapy. Both patients became severely suicidal and were subsequently successfully treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The second patient needed maintenance ECT once a month in order to stay in remission. Whereas ECT is a well-studied and accepted treatment option in adult psychiatry, in child psychiatry people are reluctant to even consider this option. This resistance is partly based on the possible side effects of ECT i.e. memory problems. As a result, the effect of ECT in adolescents has not yet been well studied. In 2004, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry proposed guidelines for the use of ECT in adolescents. Following these guidelines, the use of ECT in adolescents seems to be a safe treatment option, however further research to the effect of ECT in this age group is warranted.