Ketamine and esketamine are emerging fast-acting treatment options for treating depression. However, are they as effective as age-old electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)? ECT has been shown to consistently outdo ketamine in reducing the severity of depression in the acute phase, in not just one but in six clinical trials involving 340 patients from Sweden, Germany, Iran, and India. However, the studies showed no significant differences between ECT and ketamine for cognition/ memory .
The adverse effect profiles of the two treatments differed. While ECT was more likely to cause headaches and muscle pain, ketamine could cause blurred vision, vertigo, and dissociative symptoms. However, no significant difference was observed in terms of serious adverse events . Despite the evident superiority of ECT over ketamine, researchers advocate the individualized and patient-centric application of…
