Ketamine and ECT in Depression — Risks and Rewards

Investigators from five referral clinics for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) report in the Journal the results of an open-label, randomized, noninferiority trial of ECT or ketamine infusion in patients with moderately severe depression.1 After randomization, 365 patients (170 in the ECT group and 195 in the ketamine group) were included in the primary analysis. At the conclusion of the 3-week, randomized, active-treatment phase, 41% of the patients in the ECT group and 55% of those in the ketamine group reported a 50% or greater reduction in symptoms, findings that are consistent with moderate-to-excellent responses to treatment.2 Patients who had a response . . .