AUTHOR=Sarma Shanthi , Arunachalam Arulmathy , Kamara Memunatu , Branjerdporn Grace TITLE=Ketamine as an alternative to ECT in catatonia in elderly women with bipolar disorder: A case report JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1138772 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1138772 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=

The following paper described two cases of patients with catatonic depression in bipolar disorder (BD) referred to our electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) service. Both were deemed not medically fit for ECT, and were, instead, treated with intravenous (IV) ketamine. Both responded with a resolution of symptoms, returning to baseline level of functioning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, given the risks associated with providing ECT (an aerosol generating procedure) and, in the context of limited resources, ketamine therapy for catatonia is a potentially beneficial alternative or supportive treatment to ECT that merits additional research.