Clonidine to Prevent Delirium After Electroconvulsive Therapy.
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2024-05-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective treatment for some psychiatric
disorders like major depressive or bipolar disorder, but may lead to agitation and delirium
after the procedure in up to 65% of patients. This can have negative side effects and be
dangerous for patient and attending staff. Clonidine, a central-acting alpha2-receptor
agonist, is an approved antihypertensive medication with known sedative side effects.
Clonidine's newer but more expensive successor, dexmedetomidine, has recently shown its
potential to reduce this kind of delirium. The investigators therefore hypothesise that
pre-treatment with 2 mcg/kg clonidine prior to electroconvulsive therapy will significantly
reduce the incidence of postictal delirium. This potentially makes a highly efficient
treatment for patients with otherwise refractory psychiatric illness safer and more
accessible.