Profile of patients with Bipolar affective disorder receiving ECT

AIM: To evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients with Bipolar affective disorder who received ECT during the period of 2016-2020. METHODOLOGY: The ECT register of the department was used to screen the patients of Bipolar affective disorder who received ECT during the period of 2016 to 2020.Treatment records of patients were reviewed to evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients with Bipolar affective disorder who received ECT. During the period of 2016 to 2020, 1187 patients received ECT, out of which 178 (15%) patients were diagnosed with Bipolar affective disorder. Out of 178 patients with Bipolar affective disorder, 113 (63.5%) had Bipolar depression and rest of the patients had manic or mixed episode. Out of 178 patients of Bipolar affective disorder who received ECT, 62 (34.8%) had psychotic symptoms. Majority of patients received 6-10 ECTs and showed satisfactory clinical response, very few patients developed complications. CONCLUSION: ECT is more often used for bipolar depression than manic episodes. ECT is effective in management of both the acute phases of illness in patients with bipolar disorder.