A Case Report of Hemiplegia after Electroconvulsive Therapy and the Management of Subsequent Treatments

Abstract

Upon searching PubMed for transient paralysis and electroconvulsive therapy, there appears to be very little report of this phenomenon in the literature [2-8]. Most reports of transient hemiplegia are in the context of unilateral electrical brain stimulation with resulting contralateral transient hemiplegia. There is no mention of whether subsequent ECT treatments will provoke recurrence of hemiplegia or the risk factors for such. Furthermore, while one study reported subsequent successful ECT treatments following an episode of transient hemiplegia [8], there are limited studies available to help guide recommendations for subsequent ECT treatments.