Suxethonium Bromide in E.C.T.

Abstract

The use of muscle relaxants in E.C.T. constitutes an important advance in psychiatric practice. The merits of the method are not only due to the beneficial effects of the relaxant itself; the anaesthetic, that is invariably administered at the same time, plays an essential part in the procedure. Every phase of the treatment is greatly improved. Anxiety, which so often develops during unmodified E.C.T., is greatly reduced if not abolished altogether. There is no cry or other noise that might disturb other patients awaiting treatment; the convulsion is attenuated to a reaction that may be varied at will from a mild modified convulsion to a mere flicker of facial muscles or complete absence of muscular activity. Cyanosis is absent and the colour remains good throughout, and—perhaps most important of all from the therapeutic point of view—there is no restlessness or confusion after the treatment, the patient sleeping quietly after the treatment until he wakes up without any unpleasant sensations or memories.