Table 1.
A summary of the studies included (n=9)
| Study, year | Study design | Number of participants (gender) | Range age (mean age±SD) years | Anesthetic medications | Number of ECT sessions | Time to measure HRV parameters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schultz et al.,[25] 1997 | USA | 9 (NR females, NR males) | (42.2±12.2) | Methohexital (0.75 mg/kg), succinylcholine (0.6 mg/kg), and glycopyrrolate 0.2 mg | Three per week | 24 to 36 h after the last ECT |
| Nahshoni et al.,[31]2001 | Israel | 11 (8 females, 3 males) | 60 to 84 (70±7) | Methohexital sodium (1.0 mg/kg) and succinylcholine (0.5 mg/kg) | Twice weekly for a maximum of 12, if needed | 72 h after the last ECT |
| Nahshoni et al.,[28]2004 | Israel | 10 (7 females, 3 males) | 60 to 84 (70±7) | Methohexital sodium (1.0 mg/kg) and succinylcholine (0.5 mg/kg) | Twice weekly for a maximum of 12, if needed | 48 h after the last ECT |
| Karpyak et al.,[32] 2004 | USA (Rochester, MN.) | 11 (8 females, 3 males) | 25 to 70 (45.5±12.4) | 0.2 mg IV glycopyrrolate, 1.5–2.0 mg/kg IV thiopental, and 1.0 mg/kg succinylcholine | Three per week | Between 1:45 hours to more than 72 h |
| Takada et al.,[26] 2005 | Brasil | 38 (20 females, 18 males) | 50 to 83 (64.7±8.6) | Etomidate (0.2–0.3 mg/kg) | NR | Seven 4 min intervals before the shock, a 4 min interval during the shock, and seven 4 min intervals after the shock |
| Ebert et al.,[9]2010 | Germany | 24 (21 females, 3 males) | 18 to 72 (61.1±16.8) | Etomidate and succinylcholine (according to in-house standards) | Six | Data were collected less than one week before the first ECT, and 24-h after the third and sixth ECT sessions. |
| Royster et al.,[29]2012 | USA | 21 (17 females, 4 M males) | 18 to 90 (48±18) | NR | Six (between ECT treatments was 48 to 72 h) | Just before ECT-1 and ECT-6 |
| Bozkurt et al.,[27] 2013 | Turkey | 14 (0 female, 14 males) | 30 to 54 (37.78±6.12) | thiopental (5 mg/kg) and succinylcholine (0.5 mg/kg) | Nine (three per week) | Holter monitoring, 24 h, was performed before treatment and at the end of the first, third, and three weeks after the last ECT. |
| Suzuki et al.,[30]2015 | Japan | 8 (6 females, 2 males) | (66.5±7.1) | Intravenous thiopental (2–4 mg/kg) | One to three per week (for one week) | From 4 min before ECT onset to 4 min after |
NR=not reported