Focal points of preanesthesia evaluations for electroconvulsive therapy in patients with depression: a retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics in nonremission

BACKGROUND: This study explored the patient clinical characteristics that may affect electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) efficacy to enable improved focus during evaluations and preparation for ECT. METHODS: Patients were enrolled for ECT at the Department of Psychiatry and Anesthesiology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from December 2017 to January 2019. The primary outcome in our study was defined as the development of nonremission. A multivariate logistic analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for nonremission. RESULTS: In total, 874 depressed patients were included in the study. After the ECT treatment, 255 cases (29.2%) exhibited nonremission. A multivariate logistic regression analysis of the variables was performed, and the results showed that atherosclerosis (OR 8.072, 95% CI 2.442 to 16.675; P = 0.001), COPD (OR 2.919, 95% CI 1.240 to 6.871; P = 0.014), diabetes (OR 2.202, 95% CI 1.115 to 4.348; P = 0.023) and smoking (OR 1.519, 95% CI 1.015 to 2.273; P = 0.042) were independent risk factors for nonremission. CONCLUSION: In the retrospective analysis, we found that atherosclerosis, diabetes, COPD and smoking may be high-risk factors for nonremission. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12871-022-01686-6.