Patterns of electroconclusive therapy in Bahrain

ABSTRACT

This is a study of the pattern of use and the response to electroconvulsive therapy [ECT] administered in the Psychiatric Hospital between 1984 and 1987. ECT rate in Bahrain was found to be 0.67 individual applications per thousand total population. 1.48% of all psychiatric patients seen during the period of the study received ECT. 61.3% of cases who received ECT were suffering from schizophrenic illnesses, 38.7% from affective disorders. The best results were found in affective disorders; 58.8% had good improvement whereas in schizophrenics group 36.1% had good improvement. However, catatonic schizophrenics, which if singled out, gave the best results with [81%] good improvement. The female to male sex ratio is 1.3. Side effects in this study were found to be less than those reported in other studies