The FDA Won’t Rule on ECT, But the Maker of the ECT Device Warns of Suicide and Death

     Somatics, LLC, is one of two manufacturers of ECT devices in the US, and they issue a manual with each of their Thymatron IV ECT instruments. After a short, three paragraph introduction to its intended use and intended population, the manual immediately goes into“Safety Information.”

    Their first warning?
     “Various medical conditions are associated with substantially increased risk from ECT, including risk of death.”

     Their second?
     “ECT device use may be associated with disorientation, confusion, and memory problems.”

     Their third warning includes:
     “The long-term safety and effectiveness of ECT treatment has not been demonstrated, and long-term follow-up may be needed.”

      And their fourth?
     “Some patients who were suicidal before receiving ECT eventually committed suicide after receiving ECT, including after receiving ECT with a Thymatron® device.”

     Quite a machine eh?

     The FDA has not ruled for or against the delivery of ECT, but they have allowed these devices to be used on those diagnosed with catatonia or severe major depressive disorder. The FDA claims administering ECT is “the practice of medicine,” and they’d don’t rule on that.

     The warnings in the Thymatron manual, however, give any prospective patient good reason to refuse ECT…if they were lucky enough to have been given the full Informed Consent briefing that is legally required. Anecdotal evidence suggests that doesn’t happen very often.

     Why?

     For one thing, a new Thymatron IV costs about four hundred bucks. You can get the deluxe model for $900, but the standard $419 version delivers more than enough of an electrical jolt — up to 460 volts – to induce at least a twenty second seizure in an anesthetized and paralyzed patient.

     What can a psychiatrist charge for that five to ten minute procedure? $300 to $1000. A patient typically undergoes 6-12 of those procedures during their initial program of treatment.

     That’s somewhere between about $2000 and $12,000 per patient from a four hundred dollar device. Most ECT patients have at least one more series of treatments, as well, because any effects from the first set are very short lived.

     How many shocks can a Thymatron IV administer before it wears out? We don’t know, but the manufacturer writes “Most ECT units sent to us for presumed malfunction have nothing wrong with them!” (The exclamation point is theirs – a nice little marketing flourish).

     So a psychiatrist can shell out four hundred bucks, turn on a switch to quickly zap a patient, and watch his profits roll in time after time after time.

     Nice return on investment in terms of profit.

     Maybe not so nice, though, in terms of karma.