The use of ECT in intellectual disability

Abstract

The present survey examines the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) by consultant psychiatrists working with people with intellectual disability in Trent Region, UK, which has a population of 4.7 million people. In the first phase of the study, all consultants in the area were sent a questionnaire to find out how many patients had been given ECT during the previous 5 years. Some 92% of the consultant psychiatrists returned the questionnaires. Eight patients were given a total of 122 ECTs, which is low when compared with the use of ECT by general adult psychiatrists. The second phase of the research involved a study of the individual medical case notes to obtain information about individual indications for ECT, outcome and consent issues. The commonest indication for ECT was depression, and the best response was obtained when the clinical picture was dominated by biological and/or psychotic symptoms.