To investigate the effect of treatment modality on length of hospital
stay, the authors retrospectively studied 86 admissions of 74 patients with
major depression. All 19 patients who received ECT recovered, in contrast
to only 27 (49%) of 55 patients given tricyclic antidepressants or other
medication. The 28 patients who had not responded to antidepressants
recovered after treatment with ECT. Treatment modality had a highly
significant effect on length of hospital stay: patients given ECT stayed a
mean of 13 fewer days, saving more than $6,400 per patient at current
rates. These findings of significant economic and therapeutic benefits in
the use of ECT raise issues about treatment selection for depressed
inpatients.
Abstract Teaser