Maintenance electroconvulsive therapy for comorbid pharmacotherapy-refractory obsessive-compulsive and schizoaffective disorder

• Main Authors: Hanisch F, Friedemann J, Piro J, Gutmann P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2009-08-01
• Series: European Journal of Medical Research
• Subjects: obsessive-compulsive disorder; schizophrenia; electroconvulsive therapy; atypical neuroleptics
• Online Access: http://www.eurjmedres.com/content/14/8/367

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>There is a high comorbidity of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsory disorder (OCD) associated with more severe symptoms. Standard pharmacotherapy achieve symptom improvement in approximately 60% only.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report about a 48-old women treated for depression which developed successively psychotic symptoms (ideas of reference, psychotic worries), negative symptoms (blunted affect, impoverished thinking, difficulties in planning), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (mainly repeating rituals, avoidance behaviour, collecting and hoarding). She did not respond to combined treatment with neuroleptics and high dose selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. She acutely improved during a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and was maintained on outpatient ECTs fortnightly together with 12 mg sertindol and 45 mg mirtazapine for 42 weeks.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Maintenance ECT is not an approved therapy in OCD but might be an option in pharmacotherapy refractory cases of comorbid OCD and schizophrenic/schizoaffective disorder.</p>