Moderate clinical improvement with maintenance ECT in a 17-year-old boy with intractable catatonic schizophrenia

Angèle Consoli (1, 2) , Valérie Boulicot (3) , Françoise Cornic (3, 2, 4) , Philippe Fossati (1) , Martine Barbeau (1) , David Cohen (1, 2)

1 CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière [AP-HP]
2 LPNCog / UMR 8189 - Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neurosciences Cognitives
3 CHU Saint-Antoine [AP-HP]
4 Department of Psychiatry

The use of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) in adolescents is controversial, and few studies have been conducted to assess its efficacy and safety in this population. We report the case of a 19-year-old boy who received two series of ECT, one at 15 and another at 16, for intractable catatonic schizophrenia. Since the age of 17, he has required treatment combining clozapine and maintenance ECT. The course showed a sustained moderate improvement. The treatment permitted the patient to regain some autonomy with moderate adverse effects. ECT remains an uncommon treatment in adolescents, and the current case supports the view that it should not be banned in young people.

Mots clés: catatonic schizophrenia; adolescent; electro-convulsive therapy; maintenance ECT

Angèle Consoli, Valérie Boulicot, Françoise Cornic, Philippe Fossati, Martine Barbeau, et al.. Moderate clinical improvement with maintenance ECT in a 17-year-old boy with intractable catatonic schizophrenia. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2009, 18 (4), pp.250-254. ⟨10.1007/s00787-008-0724-6⟩. ⟨hal-00486569⟩