Electroconvulsive Therapy Use in Psychiatric Hospitalizations in Portugal A Nationwide Descriptive Study

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Mota, P (Author) Other; Goncalves Pinho, M (Author) FMUP; Ribeiro, JP (Author) Other; Macedo, S (Author) Other; Freitas A (Author) FMUP; Mota, J (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Journal of ECT

Vol. 37

Pages: 270-273

ISSN: 1095-0680

Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Health

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citations

Scopus - 2 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00V-SB7

DOI: 10.1097/yct.0000000000000754

Abstract (EN): Objectives The primary aim of this study was to describe a Portuguese nationwide epidemiological perspective on the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in hospitalized psychiatric patients. The secondary aims of the study were to characterize clinical and sociodemographic trends of hospitalized patients treated with ECT. Methods A retrospective-observational study was conducted using an administrative database gathering every registered Portuguese public hospital hospitalizations from 2008 to 2015. We selected all hospitalizations with a procedure code 94.27 (Other electroshock therapy) defined by the International Classification of Diseases version 9, Clinical Modification. Variables included birth date, sex, address, primary and secondary diagnoses, admission/discharge date, length of stay, and discharge status from each single hospitalization episode. We also calculated Portugal's inpatient ECT prevalence rate (iP%). Results There were a total of 879 registered hospitalizations with ECT within the 8-year period of this study. Most occurred in female patients (53.4%), belonging to the age group of 51 to 70 years old, with a mean age of 50.5 years. The median length of stay was 43.0 days with an interquartile range of 27.0 to 68.0. The most frequent primary diagnosis was major depressive disorder, recurrent episode, representing 19.6% of all hospitalizations. The iP% for the study period was 0.71%. Conclusions In Portugal, most of the patients who received ECT were women above middle age, and depressive disorders were the most common indication. Portugal's iP% represents a low rate when compared with other European countries, which might indicate an underutilization of ECT in Portuguese psychiatric hospitals.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 4