Low medical morbidity and mortality after acute courses of electroconvulsive therapy in a population-based sample
Corresponding Author
D. M. Blumberger
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Daniel M. Blumberger, Medical Head and Co-Director, Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 1001 Queen St. W., Unit 4-115, Toronto, ON, Canada M6J 1H4.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorD. P. Seitz
Department of Psychiatry, Providence Care Mental Health Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorN. Herrmann
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorJ. G. Kirkham
Department of Psychiatry, Providence Care Mental Health Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorR. Ng
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorC. Reimer
Department of Anesthesia, Providence Care Mental Health Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorP. Kurdyak
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorA. Gruneir
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorM. J. Rapoport
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorZ. J. Daskalakis
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorB. H. Mulsant
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorS. N. Vigod
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Women's College Hospital and Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
D. M. Blumberger
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Daniel M. Blumberger, Medical Head and Co-Director, Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 1001 Queen St. W., Unit 4-115, Toronto, ON, Canada M6J 1H4.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorD. P. Seitz
Department of Psychiatry, Providence Care Mental Health Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorN. Herrmann
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorJ. G. Kirkham
Department of Psychiatry, Providence Care Mental Health Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorR. Ng
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorC. Reimer
Department of Anesthesia, Providence Care Mental Health Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorP. Kurdyak
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorA. Gruneir
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorM. J. Rapoport
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorZ. J. Daskalakis
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorB. H. Mulsant
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorS. N. Vigod
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Women's College Hospital and Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Background
To determine event rates for specific medical events and mortality among individuals receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Method
Population-based cohort study using health administrative data of acute ECT treatments delivered in Ontario, Canada, from 2003 to 2011. We measured the following medical event rates, per 10 000 ECT treatments, up to 7 and 30 days post-treatment: stroke, seizure, acute myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, pneumonia, pulmonary embolus, deep vein thrombosis, gastrointestinal bleeding, falls, hip fracture, and mortality.
Results
A total of 135 831 ECT treatments were delivered to 8810 unique patients. Overall medical event rates were 9.1 and 16.8 per 10 000 ECT treatments respectively. The most common medical events were falls (2.7 and 5.5 per 10 000 ECT treatments) and pneumonia (1.8 and 3.8 per 10 000 ECT treatments). Fewer than six deaths occurred on the day of an ECT treatment. This corresponded to a mortality rate of less than 0.4 per 10 000 treatments. Deaths within 7 and 30 days of an ECT treatment, excluding deaths due to external causes (e.g., accidental and intentional causes of death), were 1.0 and 2.4 per 10 000 ECT treatments respectively.
Conclusion
Morbidity and mortality events after ECT treatments were relatively low, supporting ECT as a low-risk medical procedure.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| acps12815-sup-0001-SupInfo.docxWord document, 13.6 KB | Appendix S1. ICD 10 codes for morbidity outcomes |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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