SUBCLINICAL STATUS EPILEPTICUS FOLLOWING ECT

Subclinical status epilepticus is a rare complication of electroconvul sive therapy (ECT). We describe the case of a 70-year-old man with psy chotic depression who developed prolonged subclinical status epileptic us following an initial ECT treatment; he subsequently received a cour se of ECT without complications. It is important to consider status ep ilepticus in the differential diagnosis of patients who do not regain consciousness following ECT, even in the absence of overt motor seizur e activity. The development of this complication does not preclude the future use of ECT; in fact, ECT has been repeated successfully in ind ividuals who developed this complication, including this case. Identif ication of potential risk factors, appropriate preventive measures, an d early intervention are important in the management of this complicat ion. The literature is reviewed and appropriate preventive and treatme nt measures are discussed.