Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the appropriate treatments for many neuropsychiatric patients, especially those with mood disorders. Short-term complications of ECT include agitation and postictal. In this study, we compared the addition of dexmedetomidine or remifentanil to thiopental as the main anaesthetic used in ECT. In this double-blind randomised clinical trial, 90 patients with mood disorders (candidates for ECT) were divided into two groups based on their therapy: dexmedetomidine or remifentanil. In the first group (DG), patients were slowly injected intravenously with 0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine before induction of anesthesia. In the second group (GR), 100 μg of remifentanil was slowly injected intravenously.In addition, we collected demographic information such as respiratory rate, heart pulse rate, seizure time, mean of arterial blood pressure, recovery duration and the oxygen arterial saturation recorded after recovery. Data obtained were analysed by use of statistical software, SPSS-23. The mean age of both groups was approximately 37 years with the majority being men. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age and sex, blood pressure, heart rate, duration of seizures and arterial oxygen saturation before ECT. The mean blood pressure and heart rate in the recovery group were lower in the dexmedetomidine group than in the remifentanil group and the hemodynamics in the dexmedetomidine group were more stable. The recovery time in the dexmedetomidine group was longer than that of the remifentanil group (p = 0.001). Both groups had approximately the same satisfaction and the rate of agitation after ECT was the same. Both remifentanil and dexmedetomidine as adjuvants lead to a decrease in patients' post-ECT hyperdynamic responses. In our study, we demonstrated that the effect of dexmedetomidine is greater than remifentanil. On the other hand, neither dexmedetomidine nor remifentanil had a negative effect on seizure duration, but dexmedetomidine significantly prolonged recovery time, when compared to remifentanil.

AIM: The aim of our study was to determine the effect of adjunctive use of dexmedetomidine and metoral with thiopental on hemodynamic status, agitation, patient satisfaction, and duration of seizure in patients with mood disorders in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). METHODS: This study is a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial. Sixty patients (18–60 years) according to DSM5 criteria had mood disorder and were candidates for ECT. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of 30 each. One group received 5.0 μg/kg dexmedetomidine 10 min before induction of thiopental, and the other group received 5.2 mg intravenous metoprolol immediately before ECT. Patients’ satisfaction, duration of seizure, and arterial oxygen saturation were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean age of both groups was approximately 37 years with the majority of men. No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of age and sex, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), duration of seizure, and arterial oxygen saturation before ECT. The mean BP and HR in the recovery were lower in the dexmedetomidine group than in the metoral group. Arterial oxygen saturation percentage was not significantly different between the two groups. The recovery time in the dexmedetomidine group was longer than the metoral group (p = 0.001). Post-ECT satisfaction was found to be higher in the dexmedetomidine group than in the metoral group and the mean agitation score was found to be higher in the metoral group. CONCLUSION: Both metoral and dexmedetomidine as adjuvants decrease the hyperdynamic responses of patients after ECT, whereas the effect of dexmedetomidine is more than metoral; on the other hand, neither dexmedetomidine nor metoral has any negative effect on seizure duration, but dexmedetomidine significantly prolonged recovery time as compared to metoral.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the appropriate treatments for many neuropsychiatric patients, especially those with mood disorders. Short-term complications of ECT include agitation and postictal. In this study, we compared the addition of dexmedetomidine or remifentanil to thiopental as the main anaesthetic used in ECT. In this double-blind randomised clinical trial, 90 patients with mood disorders (candidates for ECT) were divided into two groups based on their therapy: dexmedetomidine or remifentanil. In the first group (DG), patients were slowly injected intravenously with 0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine before induction of anesthesia. In the second group (GR), 100 μg of remifentanil was slowly injected intravenously.In addition, we collected demographic information such as respiratory rate, heart pulse rate, seizure time, mean of arterial blood pressure, recovery duration and the oxygen arterial saturation recorded after recovery. Data obtained were analysed by use of statistical software, SPSS-23. The mean age of both groups was approximately 37 years with the majority being men. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age and sex, blood pressure, heart rate, duration of seizures and arterial oxygen saturation before ECT. The mean blood pressure and heart rate in the recovery group were lower in the dexmedetomidine group than in the remifentanil group and the hemodynamics in the dexmedetomidine group were more stable. The recovery time in the dexmedetomidine group was longer than that of the remifentanil group (p = 0.001). Both groups had approximately the same satisfaction and the rate of agitation after ECT was the same. Both remifentanil and dexmedetomidine as adjuvants lead to a decrease in patients' post-ECT hyperdynamic responses. In our study, we demonstrated that the effect of dexmedetomidine is greater than remifentanil. On the other hand, neither dexmedetomidine nor remifentanil had a negative effect on seizure duration, but dexmedetomidine significantly prolonged recovery time, when compared to remifentanil.