The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Geriatric Psychiatry, 4th Edition Chapter 27. Electroconvulsive Therapy Sections: Electroconvulsive Therapy: Introduction, History, Indications for ECT, Risks of ECT and Its Use in Patients With Neurological and Medical Disorders, Pre-ECT Evaluation, ECT Technique, Maintenance Therapy, Future of ECT, Key Points, References, Suggested Readings. Topics Discussed: electroconvulsive therapy. Excerpt: "Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) involves the electrical induction of a series of seizures as a treatment for mental disorders, most notably major depression. This chapter covers the history of ECT; the extent to which it is used; indications; risks; the evaluation of patients for ECT; ECT technique; the use of ECT to alleviate episodes of illness (index ECT); management of patients after completion of the ECT course, including the use of ECT to prevent relapse (maintenance ECT); and a brief discussion of what can be expected in the future of this treatment modality. Throughout the chapter, a particular focus is placed on the use of ECT in the elderly. With the mean age of individuals referred for ECT increasing, the importance of ECT in geriatric psychiatry continues to grow...." DOI: 10.1176/appi.books.9781585623754.397112 The content above is only an excerpt. For full access subscribe now or log into your account below. You can also purchase 24- or 48-hour access; learn more Username: Password:     Athens Login FORGOT your subscriber username and/or password? Get a reminder via email: The email I registered with is:  Not a subscriber? Subscribe Today PsychiatryOnline is a powerful website that features DSM-IV-TR® and The American Journal of Psychiatry as the cornerstones of an unsurpassed collection of psychiatric references, including books, journals, and self-assessment tools. PsychiatryOnline’s innovative platform makes these resources easy and convenient to use, offering Precise and powerful searching across books and journals. Quick pathways to related material. Mobile access from any computer with a Web connection. Ability to download any book section to PDA. Links from bibliographic references to the full text of journal articles. References to material not located in the PsychiatryOnline collection lead you to PubMed. Learn more about PsychiatryOnline Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing PsychiatryOnline@psych.org or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).