‘A course of electroconvulsive therapy in a geriatric patient with symptomatic degenerative cervical myelopathy before corrective surgery’

Abstract

We report the case of a 70-year-old woman who received ECT for major depression with psychotic features. The patient was identified to have symptomatic severe cervical degenerative myelopathy during treatment and she received 21 sessions of right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) without adverse neurological outcome. Precautions were undertaken to minimize risk of ECT-associated spinal cord injury. ECT was successfully recommenced without precautions following laminectomy.