Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with a high burden of disability and mortality and frequently is treatment resistant. There is little to offer patients who are not responding to standard interventions. Thus, the objective of this report is to systematically review human data on whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective in PTSD.
Methods: We performed a systematic literature review from 1958 through August 2016 for clinical studies and case reports published in English examining the efficacy of ECT in improving PTSD symptoms.
Results: The literature search generated 3 retrospective studies, 1 prospective uncontrolled clinical trial, and 5 case reports. It is not clear, given the small sample size and lack of a large randomized trial, whether favorable outcomes were attributed to improvement in depression (as opposed to core PTSD symptoms).
Conclusions: Current efficacy data do not separate conclusively the effects of ECT on PTSD symptoms from those on depression. Randomized controlled trials are necessary to examine the use of ECT in medication-refractory PTSD patients with and without comorbid depression. Subsequent studies may address response in PTSD subtypes, and the use of novel techniques, such as memory reactivation, before ECT.