Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:1258-1260
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Intravenous versus intramuscular atropine in ECT
BA Kramer, A Afrasiabi and VE Pollock
Department of Psychiatry, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
Twelve patients receiving ECT consented to random assignment to either
intravenous or intramuscular administration of atropine for a total of 48
ECTs. There were no statistically significant differences between routes of
administration in heart rate, blood pressures, or sialorrhea, but
intravenous administration eliminated one injection per treatment and the
development of dry mouth and tachycardia between the intramuscular
injection and ECT. The authors recommend that atropine for ECT be
administered intravenously.
