[Is electroconvulsive therapy obsolete?].

We report on 120 psychiatric in-patients who underwent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) during 1980-1987. The patients were hospitalized in a regional psychiatric hospital, main indications for ECT being "neuroleptic treatment resistance" (44%) and "catatonia/stupor". Between 1980 and 1987 on average 0.7% (2.75%-0.1%) of admissions were treated by means of a course of less than 10 ECT sessions (62%) or less than 15 sessions (25%), 4% patients requiring 20 ECT sessions or even more. In over half of the patients bilateral electrode placement was chosen out of therapeutic considerations. Naturally, ECT was carried out under specialist anaesthesia and muscular relaxation. For drug-resistant patients average doses as needed before ECT are presented. 83% of patients showed remissions. Under strict indications ECT is still rated as a valuable treatment technique for a sub-group of psychotic in-patients.