[Electroconvulsive Therapy - A beneficial and well tolerated therapy in children and adolescents with schizophrenia].

We report four cases of 12- to 17-year-old patients with schizophrenia, two of them suffering from catatonia, which were treated by ECT. Under a combined treatment with either ziprasidone or clozapine, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), they improved markedly. Severity and course of acute schizophrenia were evaluated by the Brief Psychiatric rating Scale (BPRS), severity and course of catatonia were evaluated with the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS). This article underlines the benefit, the safety and the tolerability of ECT in younger patients with schizophrenic disorders.