Journal of International Psychiatry

Objective To explore the effective rate and predictive factors of MECT in patients with refractory depression. Methods A retrospective study was conducted to collect the demographic information and clinical characteristics in patients with refractory depression who received MECT treatment in the affiliated brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from 2014 to 2017 ( n=218 ). Clinical effectiveness was defined as the Clinical Global Impressions Scale score≤2 points. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the predictive factors of MECT in the treatment of refractory depressive disorder. Results The effective rate of MECT in the treatment of refractory depression was 73.9%, and the clinical effective rate of female patients was 62.7%. Logistic regression showed that female patients was a protective factors of MECT against refractory depressive disorder (OR=2.5, P=0.006), but the times of MECT treatment in the first week was a negative factors (OR=0.61, P=0.012). Conclusion MECT is an effective method for the treatment of refractory depression, especially in female patients. In addition, a reasonable number of MECTs must be performed within the first week to make anti-refractory depression more effective.

refractory depression; modified electroconvulsive therapy; predictive factors