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Influences of Reserpine on E.C.T.: Preliminary Observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2018

R. S. Ferguson
R. S. Ferguson*
Affiliation:
St. Nicholas' Hospital, Gosforth, Newcastle-on-Tyne
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There have been some indications in recent literature (Naidoo, 1956) that reserpine influences the kind of fit that patients have with E.C.T. The first time this came to our notice was a few months ago when we noticed that a patient who was receiving 9 mg. of reserpine daily took an unduly long time to resume breathing after her fit. However, she also had Parkinsonism, and we were using succinyl choline and intravenous anaesthetic, so we thought that perhaps this was a Parkinsonian idiosyncratic response to reserpine and succinyl choline (Ferguson, 1956). Since then, in chronic psychotics who have been having quite large doses of the drug over a long period, we have been struck by the apparent delay in resuming respiration after E.C.T. given “straight”, i.e. without relaxants. There have been alarming reports of collapse, even death in one instance from America (Foster and Gayle, 1955).

Type
Original Articles
Information
Journal of Mental Science , Volume 102 , Issue 429 , October 1956 , pp. 826 - 829
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1956 

References

Naidoo, D., The effects of reserpine (serpasil) on the chronic disturbed schizophrenic—A comparative study of Rauwolfia alkaloids and electro convulsive therapy, 1956. In the press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, R. S., Brit. med. J., 1956, i, 459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, M. W., and Gayle, R. F., “Dangers in combining reserpine (serpasil) with electroconvulsive therapy”, J. Amer. Med. Assn., 1955, 159, 1520.Google Scholar
Vakil, R. J., “A clinical trial of Rauwolfia serpentina in essential hypertension”, Brit. Heart J., 1949, 2, 350—355.Google Scholar
Davies, D. L., and Shepherd, M., Lancet, 1955, ii, 117.Google Scholar
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