Efficacy and Safety of Cisatracurium in Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Randomized, Single-blind, Clinical Trial

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is widely accepted as a safe and effective treatment in psychiatric patients. Although succinylcholine is the choice of muscle relaxant in this process, its adverse effects and contraindications must be considered.

This study investigated the efficacy of cisatracurium as an alternative in ECT patients. 

This single-blind clinical trial was performed in an academic hospital in Northern Iran from July 2023 to March 2024. A total of 62 eligible ECT patients were enrolled in the survey and randomly divided into succinylcholine (0.5 mg/kg) and cisatracurium (0.1 mg/kg) groups. Seizure duration, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, the time to return to spontaneous breathing, and recovery time were recorded and compared between the two groups.

No significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding seizure duration and hemodynamic parameters (P>0.05). However, the time to return to spontaneous breathing (P=0.0001) and recovery time (P=0.0001) were significantly longer in the cisatracurium group. None of the patients was affected by serious adverse effects.

Cisatracurium is a safe alternative to succinylcholine and can be administrated during ECT.