Psychotic Illness: A trial of maintenance ECT

Athar Abbas, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Onyx Ward, Luton Centre for Mental Health Off Calnwood Road, Luton, LU4 0FB, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom

James Rand, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Onyx Ward, Luton Centre for Mental Health Off Calnwood Road, Luton, LU4 0FB, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom

Mehraj Shah, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Onyx Ward, Luton Centre for Mental Health Off Calnwood Road, Luton, LU4 0FB, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom

Abstract
Schizophrenia is an enduring psychiatric illness that is classed as a type of psychosis and typically presents with a combination of hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and behaviour which results in functional impairment ¹⁰.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that individuals diagnosed with Schizophrenia should be offered antipsychotic medication along with psychosocial interventions ⁸. Other treatment modalities in the management of Schizophrenia have been used including Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ⁴.
In this case report, we present a lady with schizophrenia who is well-known to the mental health services. The nature of her illness is chronic, spanning several decades, and over the years, she has either had a suboptimal response or developed significant side effects/adverse reactions, including dystonic reactions and two episodes of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome. As a result, she has mostly received maintenance Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) for the past 5 years.

Keywords
maintenance ECT, Schizophrenia, ECT

Cite this paper
Athar Abbas, James Rand, Mehraj Shah, Psychotic Illness: A trial of maintenance ECT , SCIREA Journal of Medicine. Volume 8, Issue 1, February 2024 | PP. 18-27. 10.54647/pm310252

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