Real facts about ETC and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) How safe or risky is the treatment method in general ?
ECT is amongst the safest and least risky medical procedures carried out under induction anaesthesia . To put the mortal risk with ECT in proper perspective , it is only necessary to note that ECT is about 10 times safer than childbirth . One large scale Scandinavian survey found one death in 22,210 treatments for a per-treatment mortality rate of 0.004%.Recent figures from the state of California reflected 2 deaths per 99,425 treatments , for a per treatment mortality rate of 0.002% ( Kramer, 1985; Hermann & co-workers, 1995. ) and are at the bottom of the reported range for anaesthesia induction alone ( 0.003% to 0.04% ). The American Psychiatric Association and the British Royal College of Psychiatry recognizes no absolute contraindications to ECT. The same view is held by the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa. As in all anaesthesias the greatest risks are in people with severe or unstable concomitant medical conditions .
