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Electro-Convulsive Therapy with Minimum Hazard

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Douglas Gordon
Douglas Gordon*
Affiliation:
The City University, St John Street, London EC1V 4PB and Honorary Consultant Radiologist, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London
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Summary

The inter-electrode resistance during ECT is shown to be very variable, a finding which invalidates the measurement of shocks in joules. With square wave pulses of selected current value the threshold for convulsion may be below 100 milliamperes or above 2,000 milliamperes. It is advisable to measure the current value during millisecond pulses with relatively long intervals between.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 141 , Issue 1 , July 1982 , pp. 12 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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References

Galvani, A. (1791) De Viribus Electricitatis in Motu Musculari. Bologna.Google Scholar
Gordon, D. (1980) Ruptured spleen in electric convulsion therapy. British Medical Journal, 280, 1456.Google Scholar
Gordon, D. (1981) The electrical and radiological aspects of ECT. In Electroconvulsive Therapy: An Appraisal (ed. Palmer, R. L.). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gordon, D. (1982) The Royal College of Psychiatrists investigates ECT. Journal of Medical Electronics and Technology. In press.Google Scholar
Maletzky, B. M. (1978) Seizure duration and clinical effect in electroconvulsive therapy. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 19, 541–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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