Comparison of Esketamine/Propofol and Methohexital Anesthesia for ECT

The current anesthetic drug used as standard for ECT procedure at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, is the barbiturate methohexital (Brevital®). As far as we know, methohexital is the most common anesthetic in the procedure of ECT. Only few heterogeneous randomized controlled trials to directly compare the use of (sole) ketamine and methohexital in ECT with relatively small sample sizes have been conducted so far, showing inconclusive findings: a retrospective comparison of methohexital and switch to ketamine anesthesia in 36 patients showed that ketamine prolonged seizure duration and accelerated posttreatment orientation. Others compared both drugs in terms of recovery and reorientation time showing that reorientation time was faster in the methohexital group (total N=9). Another study showed no difference in any outcome measure (depressive symptom improvement, cognition, adverse events) between both groups (total N=16, N=9 per group). Finally, a comparative investigation (total N=37, N=20 vs. N=17) detected no differences between both anesthetics but a higher systolic blood pressure posttreatment and longer motor seizure duration in the ketamine group. A favorable profile of ketamine in regards to seizure quality has been reported, however in terms of outcome measures methohexital and ketamine were similar (total N=50, N=23 vs. N=27).

The present study is designed as a prospective randomized non-inferiority trial comparing esketamine plus propofol (ratio 1:1, for better readability from now on referred to as "ketofol") to methohexital, the latter being the current standard anesthetic applied for ECT procedure at our department. Patients eligible for ECT will be randomly assigned to receive anesthesia with either ketofol or methohexital for the whole course of the individual ECT series. Group differences will be investigated both in regards to outcomes related to anesthesia, treatment-outcome and seizure quality.

Further, changes in cardiac enzyme levels before and after ECT-treatment and during the entire ECT series will be evaluated and possible group differences will be explored.

As stated above the sole/adjunct administration of ketamine as anesthetic agent for ECT has been associated with better seizure quality, similar antidepressant outcomes and anesthesia-associated events, while there is some evidence suggesting that the use of ketamine might present some advantages to other anesthetics in terms of cognitive side-effects accompanying ECT. Therefore, the aim of the present study will be to establish ketofol as a new standard for anesthesia at our Department.