Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Systematic review: Electroconvulsive therapy for treatment-resistant mood disorders in children and adolescents

  • Review
  • Published:
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a well-established treatment for adults with mood disorders. However, its use in child and adolescent populations is less common. At the same time, approximately 60% of child and adolescent patients do not respond satisfactorily to first-line treatments for mood disorders. Given the need for effective treatments for severe mood disorders in adolescents and the low use rate of ECT, this systematic review examines the existing literature on the effectiveness and adverse effect profile of ECT when used for treatment-resistant mood disorders in children and adolescents. Searches were conducted in Medline, Embase, and PsycInfo using search terms related to (1) children and adolescents, (2) mood disorders, and (3) ECT. Searches identified 1715 unique articles. The full text of 71 selected articles were reviewed, leading to 41 studies included in the study. A standardized data extraction tool was used to collect key information from each study (i.e. author and publication year, objectives, participants and setting, design, measures, clinical outcomes, and side effects). As most of the studies found were case series, the Joanna Briggs Institute Case Series Critical Appraisal tool was used to assess quality. Studies were summarized qualitatively by comparing findings across key study parameters. Our review identified 41 studies for inclusion. Twenty were case series, two were case–control studies, and nineteen were case reports. Overall treatment response rates ranged from 51 to 92%, with patients receiving an average of 12 treatments. Among studies with n > 30, response rates were largely 70–82% for depression and 87–90% for mania. Seven studies used the Mini-Mental State Exam and found no evidence of significant post-treatment cognitive impairment. The majority of side effects were minor and transient. Tardive seizure was reported in 4 (0.6%) patients. ECT was discontinued early due to side effects in 11 (1.5%) cases. No fatalities were reported. Our data suggest that ECT is safe and effective for the treatment of mood disorders in child and adolescent populations, and should be considered in severe and treatment-refractory cases. Controlled studies with objective measures and long-term follow-up are needed to advance the evidence base.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Polanczyk GV, Salum GA, Sugaya LS, Caye A, Rohde LA (2015) Annual research review: a meta-analysis of the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discip 56(3):345–365. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ghandour RM, Sherman LJ, Vladutiu CJ et al (2019) Prevalence and treatment of depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in US children. J Pediatr 206(1):256-267.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.09.021

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Costello EJ, Egger H, Angold A (2005) 10-Year research update review: The epidemiology of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders: I. Methods and public health burden. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 44(10):972–986. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000172552.41596.6f

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Jane Costello E, Erkanli A, Angold A (2006) Is there an epidemic of child or adolescent depression? J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discip 47(12):1263–1271. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01682.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Ghaziuddin N, Shamseddeen W, Gettys G, Ghaziuddin M (2020) Electroconvulsive therapy for the treatment of severe mood disorders during adolescence: a retrospective chart review. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 30(4):235–243. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2019.0054

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Clark MS, Jansen KL, Cloy JA (2012) Treatment of childhood and adolescent depression. Am Fam Physician 86(5):442–448. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22963063

  7. Whitney DG, Peterson MD (2019) US national and state-level prevalence of mental health disorders and disparities of mental health care use in children. JAMA Pediatr 173(4):389. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5399

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Miller L, Campo JV (2021) Depression in adolescents. N Engl J Med 385(5):445–449. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra2033475 (Ropper AH, ed.)

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhou X, Michael KD, Liu Y et al (2014) Systematic review of management for treatment-resistant depression in adolescents. BMC Psychiatry 14(1):340. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-014-0340-6

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Pagnin D, De Queiroz V, Pini S, Cassano GB (2004) Efficacy of ECT in depression: a meta-analytic review. J ECT 20(1):13–20. https://doi.org/10.1097/00124509-200403000-00004

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Witt K, Potts J, Hubers A et al (2020) Ketamine for suicidal ideation in adults with psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of treatment trials. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 54(1):29–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867419883341

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Russell PS, Tharyan P, Arun Kumar K, Cherian A (2002) Electro convulsive therapy in a pre-pubertal child with severe depression. J Postgrad Med 48(4):290–291

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Saluja G, Iachan R, Scheidt PC, Overpeck MD, Sun W, Giedd JN (2004) Prevalence of and risk factors for depressive symptoms among young adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 158(8):760–765. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.158.8.760

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. McCall WV (2001) Electroconvulsive therapy in the era of modern psychopharmacology. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 4(3):315–324. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1461145701002437

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Weiner RD, Reti IM (2017) Key updates in the clinical application of electroconvulsive therapy. Int Rev Psychiatry 29(2):54–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2017.1309362

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Milev RV, Giacobbe P, Kennedy SH et al (2016) Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 clinical guidelines for the management of adults with major depressive disorder: Section 4. Neurostimulation treatments. Can J Psychiatry 61(9):561–575. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743716660033

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Ghaziuddin N, Walter G (2014) ECT for mood disorders electroconvulsive therapy in children and adolescents ECT for mood disorders ECT for mood disorders. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780199937899.001.0001

  18. De Meulenaere M, De Meulenaere J, Ghaziuddin N, Sienaert P (2018) Experience, knowledge, and attitudes of child and adolescent psychiatrists in Belgium toward pediatric electroconvulsive therapy. J ECT 34(4):247–252. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0000000000000489

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Walter G, Rey JM, Starling J (1997) Experience, knowledge and attitudes of child psychiatrists regarding electroconvulsive therapy in the young. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 31(5):676–681. https://doi.org/10.3109/00048679709062680

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Ghaziuddin N, Kaza M, Ghazi N, King C, Walter G, Rey JM (2001) Electroconvulsive therapy for minors: experiences and attitudes of child psychiatrists and psychologists. J ECT 17(2):109–117. https://doi.org/10.1097/00124509-200106000-00005

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Parmar R (1993) Attitudes of child psychiatrists to electroconvulsive therapy. Psychiatr Bull 17(1):12–13. https://doi.org/10.1192/pb.17.1.12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Sachs M, Madaan V (2012) Electroconvulsive therapy in children and adolescents: brief overview and ethical issues. Published online 1–9

  23. Freeman B (2019) Pathway to electroconvulsive treatment for minors. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 28(1):1–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2018.07.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Angèle Consoli WC de, D (2004) Summary of the practice parameter for the use of electroconvulsive therapy with adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 43(1):119–122. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200401000-00028

  25. Shoirah H, Hamoda HM (2011) Electroconvulsive therapy in children and adolescents. Expert Rev Neurother 11(1):127–137. https://doi.org/10.1586/ern.10.178

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Benson NM, Seiner SJ (2019) Electroconvulsive therapy in children and adolescents: clinical indications and special considerations. Harv Rev Psychiatry 27(6):354–358. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000236

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Croarkin PE, McCaffrey PC, McClintock SM, Rodez CHM (2009) Electroconvulsive therapy in child and adolescent psychiatry. Curr Psychiatry Rev 5:298–305 (Published online)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Rey JM, Walter G (1997) Half a century of ECT use in young people. Am J Psychiatry 154(5):595–602. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.154.5.595

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Lima NNR, Nascimento VB, Peixoto JAC et al (2013) Electroconvulsive therapy use in adolescents: a systematic review. Ann Gen Psychiatry 12(1):1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-859X-12-17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, Group TP (2009) Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLOS Med 6(7):e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Schaeffer JL, Ross RG (2002) Childhood-onset schizophrenia: premorbid and prodromal diagnostic and treatment histories. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 41(5):538–545. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200205000-00011

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Coghill D, Bonnar S, Duke S, Graham J, Seth S (2009) OSH child and adolescent psychiatry. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780199234998.001.0001

    Book  Google Scholar 

  33. Taylor EH (1998) Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of children with serious mental illness. Child Welf 77(3):311–332

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Covidence systematic review software, Veritas Health Innovation, Melbourne, Australia. Published online 2020

  35. Moola S, Munn Z, Tufanaru C et al. (2020) Chapter 7 Systematic Reviews of Etiology and Risk. In: JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. JBI, https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-08

  36. Munn Z, Barker TH, Moola S et al (2020) Methodological quality of case series studies: an introduction to the JBI critical appraisal tool. JBI Evid Synth 18(10):2127–2133. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBISRIR-D-19-00099

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Aspects M, Reading F (2011) Weighted arithmetic mean. In: The concise encyclopedia of statistics. Springer New York, pp 565–566. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-32833-1_421

  38. Harris GL (2019) Selected laboratory and measurement practices and procedures to support basic mass calibrations https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.6969-2019

  39. Pierson MD, Mickey BJ, Gilley LB, Weeks HR III (2021) Outcomes of youth treated with electroconvulsive therapy. J Clin Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.19m13164

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Grover S, Raju V, Chakrabarti S, Sharma A, Shah R, Avasthi A (2021) Use of electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents: a retrospective study. Indian J Psychol Med 43(2):119–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0253717620956730

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Stoyanova V, Penchev MI, St K, Vladimirova R, Milanova V, Kamenov Z (2013) Electroconvulsive treatment of a patient with comorbidity between affective disorder with psychotic symptoms and diabetes mellitus—type 1. Gen Med Bulg Med Inf Cent. 15(4):32–38

    Google Scholar 

  42. Walter G, Rey JM (1997) An epidemiological study of the use of ECT in adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36(6):809–815. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199706000-00018

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Walter G, Rey JM (2003) Has the practice and outcome of ECT in adolescents changed? Findings from a whole-population study. J ECT 19(2):84–87. https://doi.org/10.1097/00124509-200306000-00005

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Karayaǧmurlu A, Coşkun M, Elboǧa G et al (2020) Efficacy and safety of electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents: a retrospective chart review study from Turkey. J ECT 36(1):54–59. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0000000000000602

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Shilton T, Enoch-Levy A, Giron Y et al (2020) A retrospective case series of electroconvulsive therapy in the management of comorbid depression and anorexia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord 53(2):210–218. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23181

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Maoz H, Nitzan U, Goldwyn Y, Krieger I, Bloch Y (2018) When can we predict the outcome of an electroconvulsive therapy course in adolescents? A retrospective study. J ECT 34(2):104–107. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0000000000000469

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Puffer CC, Wall CA, Huxsahl JE, Frye MA (2016) A 20 year practice review of electroconvulsive therapy for adolescents. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 26(7):632–636. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2015.0139

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Zhand N, Courtney DB, Flament MF (2015) Use of electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents with treatment-resistant depressive disorders a case series. J ECT 31(4):238–245. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0000000000000236

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Stein D, Kurtsman L, Stier S, Remnik Y, Meged S, Weizman A (2004) Electroconvulsive therapy in adolescent and adult psychiatric inpatients—a retrospective chart design. J Affect Disord 82(3):335–342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2004.01.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Grover S, Malhotra S, Varma S, Chakrabarti S, Avasthi A, Mattoo SK (2013) Electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents a retrospective study from North India. J ECT 29(2):122–126. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0b013e31827e0d22

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Ghaziuddin N, Laughrin D, Giordani B (2000) Cognitive side effects of electroconvulsive therapy. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 10(4):269–276

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Strober M, Rao U, DeAntonio M et al (1998) Effects of electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents with severe endogenous depression resistant to pharmacotherapy. Biol Psychiatry 43(5):335–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(97)00205-9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Ghaziuddin N, King CA, Naylor MW et al (1996) Electroconvulsive treatment in adolescents with pharmacotherapy-refractory depression. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 6(4):259–271. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.1996.6.259

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Taieb O, Flament MF, Chevret S et al (2002) Clinical relevance of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in adolescents with severe mood disorder: evidence from a follow-up study. Eur Psychiatry 17(4):206–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-9338(02)00668-5

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Cohen D, Taieb O, Flament M et al (2000) Absence of cognitive impairment at long-term follow-up in adolescents treated with ECT for severe mood disorder. Am J Psychiatry 157(3):460–462. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.157.3.460

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Schheekloth TRT, LK (1993) Electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 9(1):1–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s007870050109

  57. Loiseau A, Harrisson MC, Beaudry V, Patry S (2017) Electroconvulsive therapy use in youth in the Province of Quebec. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 26(1):4–11

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Hill MA, Courvoisie H, Dawkins K, Nofal P, Thomas B (1997) ECT for the treatment of intractable mania in two prepubertal male children. Convuls Ther 13(2):74–82

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Stem B, Ghaziuddin M, King CA (1999) Ph D. Report electroconvulsive treatment of a bipolar adolescent. 9(1):63–69

  60. Segal J, Szabo CP, du Toit J (2004) Child and adolescent electroconvulsive therapy: a case report. World J Biol Psychiatry 5(4):221–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/15622970410029937

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Ghaziuddin N, Dumas S, Hodges E (2011) Use of continuation or maintenance electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents with severe treatment-resistant depression. J ECT 27(2):168–174. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0b013e3181f665e4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Cohen D, Paillère-Martinot ML, Basquin M (1997) Use of electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents. Convuls Ther 13(1):25–31

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Guttmacher LB, Cretella H (1988) Electroconvulsive therapy in one child and three adolescents. J Clin Psychiatry 49(1):20–23

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Kaliora SC, Zervas IM, Papadimitriou GN (2019) Electroconvulsive therapy: 80 years of use in psychiatry. Psychiatriki 29(4):291–302. https://doi.org/10.22365/jpsych.2018.294.291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Kho KH, van Vreeswijk MF, Simpson S, Zwinderman AH (2003) A meta-analysis of electroconvulsive therapy efficacy in depression. J ECT 19(3):139–147. https://doi.org/10.1097/00124509-200309000-00005

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Ghaziuddin N and GW (2013) Electroconvulsive therapy in children and adolescents. Oxford University Press, pp 161–190

  67. Lyon ME, McCarter R, D’Angelo LJ (2009) Detecting HIV associated neurocognitive disorders in adolescents: what is the best screening tool? J Adolesc Heal 44(2):133–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Weir JM, Zakama A, Rao U (2012) Developmental risk I: depression and the developing brain. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 21(2):237–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2012.01.004

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Straub J, Brown R, Malejko K et al (2019) Adolescent depression and brain development: evidence from voxel-based morphometry. J Psychiatry Neurosci 44(4):237–245. https://doi.org/10.1503/jpn.170233

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  70. Wachtel LE, Jaffe R, Kellner CH (2011) Electroconvulsive therapy for psychotropic-refractory bipolar affective disorder and severe self-injury and aggression in an 11-year-old autistic boy. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 20(3):147–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-010-0155-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Scott AIF (2005) The ECT Handbook: the third report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Special Committee on ECT (2nd Edn) (Council Report CR128)

  72. Felkel WC, Wagner G, Kimball J, Rosenquist P, McCall WV, Arias L (2012) Tardive seizure with postictal aphasia: a case report. J ECT 28(3):180–182. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0b013e318255a8d4

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Smith GE, Rasmussen KG, Cullum CM et al (2010) A randomized controlled trial comparing the memory effects of continuation electroconvulsive therapy versus continuation pharmacotherapy. J Clin Psychiatry 71(02):185–193. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.08m04797gre

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  74. Sackeim HA, Haskett RF, Mulsant BH et al (2001) Continuation pharmacotherapy in the prevention of relapse following electroconvulsive therapy. JAMA 285(10):1299. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.285.10.1299

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  75. Jagadisha T, Shalini SN, Kunigiri G (2020) Frequency and duration of course of ECT sessions: an appraisal of recent evidence. Indian J Psychol Med 42(3):207–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  76. Jaffe R (2002) The practice of electroconvulsive therapy: recommendations for treatment, training, and privileging: a task force report of the American Psychiatric Association. Am J Psychiatry 159(2):355. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.159.2.331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Sackeim HA, Prudic J, Devanand DP et al (1993) Effects of stimulus intensity and electrode placement on the efficacy and cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy. N Engl J Med 328(12):839–846. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199303253281204

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  78. Luccarelli J, McCoy TH, Uchida M, Green A, Seiner SJ, Henry ME (2021) The efficacy and cognitive effects of acute course electroconvulsive therapy are equal in adolescents, transitional age youth, and young adults. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 31(8):538–544. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2021.0064

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  79. Kellner CH, Knapp RG, Petrides G et al (2006) Continuation electroconvulsive therapy vs pharmacotherapy for relapse prevention in major depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.63.12.1337

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  80. Başgül ŞS, Luş MG, Hashimov A (2020) Electroconvulsive therapy in an adolescent with bipolar disorder, substance use, and body dysmorphic disorder comorbidity: case report. Neurocase 26(1):51–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/13554794.2019.1683210

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  81. Rask O, Suneson K, Holmström E, Bäckström B, Johansson BA (2017) Electroconvulsive therapy for manic state with mixed and psychotic features in a teenager with bipolar disorder and comorbid episodic obsessive–compulsive disorder: a case report. J Med Case Rep 11(1):345. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-017-1508-8

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  82. Andrews PJT, Seide M, Guarda AS, Redgrave GW, Coffey DBJ (2014) Electroconvulsive therapy in an adolescent with severe major depression and anorexia nervosa. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 24(2):94–98. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2014.2422

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  83. Siegel M, Milligan B, Robbins D, Prentice G (2012) Electroconvulsive therapy in an adolescent with autism and bipolar i disorder. J ECT 28(4):252–255. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0b013e31825cec86

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  84. Serim B, Ulaş H, Özerdem A, Alkin T (2010) Electroconvulsive therapy in an adolescent pregnant patient. Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 34(3):546–547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2009.11.014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  85. Danivas V, Behere RV, Varambally S, Rao NP, Venkatasubramanian G, Gangadhar BN (2010) Electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of delirious mania: a report of 2 patients. J ECT 26(4):278–279. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0b013e3181da848f

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  86. Gensheimer PM, Meighen KG, McDougle CJ (2002) ECT in an adolescent with down syndrome and treatment-refractory major depressive disorder. J Dev Phys Disabil 14(3):291–295. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016080506639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  87. Willoughby CL, Hradek EA, Richards NR (1997) Overview and case report. 10(3):11–17

  88. Bertagnoli MW, Borchardt CM (1990) A review of ECT for children and adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 29(2):302–307. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199003000-00022

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  89. Patkar AA, Pradhan P V, Shah LP (1990) Pre-pubertal bipolar disorder with 30-day spontaneous, classic, rapid cycles. Indian J Psychiatry 32(1):93–94. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2989578

  90. Berman E, Wolpert EA (1987) Intractable manic-depressive psychosis with rapid cycling in an 18-year-old woman successfully treated with electroconvulsive therapy. J Nerv Ment Dis 175(4):236–239. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-198704000-00009

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  91. Black DW, Wilcox JA, Stewart M (1985) The use of ECT in children: case report. J Clin Psychiatry. 46(3):98–99. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3972781

  92. Mansheim P (1983) ECT in the treatment of a depressed adolescent with meningomyelocele, hydrocephalus, and seizures. J Clin Psychiatry. 44(10):385–386. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6643400

  93. Carr V, Dorrington C, Schrader G, Wale J (1983) The use of ECT for mania in childhood bipolar disorder. Br J Psychiatry 143(4):411–415. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.143.4.411

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to express gratitude to Lily Martin, medical librarian, for her help in the search strategy.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, New York, NY, USA

    Santiago Castaneda-Ramirez

  2. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Babcock Building, 5 West, 1111 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10025, USA

    Timothy D. Becker, Adriana Bruges-Boude & Timothy R. Rice

  3. Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    Charles Kellner

Authors
  1. Santiago Castaneda-Ramirez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Timothy D. Becker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Adriana Bruges-Boude
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Charles Kellner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Timothy R. Rice
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Timothy R. Rice.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

No statistical consultants were used in this study. No support for this study was received from any grant, funding source, or commercial interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Castaneda-Ramirez, S., Becker, T.D., Bruges-Boude, A. et al. Systematic review: Electroconvulsive therapy for treatment-resistant mood disorders in children and adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 32, 1529–1560 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-01942-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-01942-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation