Effect of Modified Bifrontotemporal Electroconvulsive Therapy on Executive Function in Patients With Psychiatric Illness A Longitudinal Observational Study

Objective The study was conducted to compare the pre-electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and post-ECT status of the executive functions of patients and report any deficits found at long-term follow-up. The secondary objective of the study was to compare the performance at executive function tests after ECT with patient characteristics and ECT parameters. Methodology In a prospective longitudinal observational study, 50 patients in the age group of 18 to 65 years who were receiving modified bifrontotemporal ECT for the first time and admitted in psychiatry ward of a tertiary care hospital from July 2015 to June 2016 were assessed for executive functions using a neuropsychological battery consisting of digit span forward, digit span backward, spatial span forward, spatial span backward, phonemic verbal fluency test, semantic verbal fluency test, Stroop test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, a day before ECT and then followed up at 3 and 6 months. Results Patients' score improved on all the tests of executive function at 3-month follow-up and was significant for some tests. Improvement was sustained for all the tests 6 months after ECT. Number of years of formal education of patients before illness significantly influenced patients' performance on most of the executive function tests after ECT. Younger age of the patient positively influenced patients' performance on digit span forward and backwards and semantic verbal fluency. Conclusions There are no executive function deficits 3 to 6 months after brief pulse modified ECT with bilateral electrode placement. A higher premorbid education level is associated with better performance on executive functions after ECT.