EFFICACY OF ELECTROCONVULSIVE-THERAPY AFTER PROPOFOL AND METHOHEXITALANESTHESIA

Fifty-eight patients with major depression were randomly assigned to r eceive a hypnotic dose of either propofol or methohexital for their co mplete treatment series of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). As expecte d, seizure duration was significantly shorter with propofol than with methohexital anesthesia. Both groups recovered from their depression a t the same rate. There was a significant improvement in the Hamilton R ating Scale for Depression scores between the first and last ECT sessi on. However, this was independent of the choice of propofol or methohe xital as the anesthetic. This study supports previous reports that sei zure duration does not influence recovery from depression.