RESUMO
Background: Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe psychotic disease with high incidence. Treatment of schizophrenia with neuroleptic is a major medical advance, but sometime its result is still limited. Objective: To study the effect of electroconvulsive therapy (EC) in treatment of paranoid schizophrenic patients. Subject and methods: 101 paranoid schizophrenic patients treated by neuroleptic alone or neuroleptic combined EC, were treated in the Mental Department of Hospital 103 and Nam Dinh Mental Hospital from May, 2006 to June, 2007. Results and Conclusion: All 100% of the patients had a positive response to EC; the mean times of EC were 7.63\xb11.4 times for one. The regression of hallucination was observed after 4.6\xb11.49 times of EC; delusion after 4.96\xb11.4 times; suicide attempt after 3.25\xb10.96 times and refusing to eat after 4.96\xb12.1 times of EC; insomnia disappeared after 4.96\xb12.1 times of EC. Some side effects of the EC therapy: 100% of patients had orientation disorder; headache with light and moderate level accounted for 69.65% and 26.79%, respectively. Combination therapy made patients more stable, compared to neuroleptic therapy alone (p<0.05).