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CASE REPORT article

Front. Psychiatry

Sec. Schizophrenia

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1497205

This article is part of the Research Topic Case Reports in Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders: 2023 View all 6 articles

ECT-Induced Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in a Patient with Unstable Thyroid Function: A Case Report

Provisionally accepted
  • Shandong Daizhuang Hospital, Jining, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Schizophrenia is a prevalent and severe psychiatric disorder for which electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is frequently utilized as a treatment modality. Although ECT can transiently elevate intraocular pressure, the incidence of ECT-related adverse ophthalmic events in patients with coexisting hyperthyroidism is not well documented. Case Report: In this report, we describe an elderly woman with schizophrenia and hyperthyroidism. Before undergoing ECT, she had no previous history of glaucoma, and her thyroid function was in an unstable state. After three sessions of ECT, the patient exhibited conjunctival congestion and was subsequently diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma, which was not treated. Her intraocular pressure normalized prior to and following the fourth ECT session, and she experienced no further ocular discomfort during subsequent treatments (fifth through eighth sessions). Conclusions: Although ECT has been used in patients with coexisting psychiatric and thyroid dysfunction, there is a lack of reports addressing the risk of inducing or exacerbating glaucoma in the context of unstable thyroid function. This case emphasizes the necessity of monitoring intraocular pressure in patients with unstable thyroid function during ECT, to mitigate the risk of ocular complications.

    Keywords: Schizophrenia, Hyperthyroidism, Glaucoma, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Safety, effectivity

    Received: 07 Oct 2024; Accepted: 13 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Fu, Yang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kun Li, Shandong Daizhuang Hospital, Jining, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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