Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2024 Aug 9:S2451-9022(24)00236-2. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.08.002. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Monitoring cognitive side-effects following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is crucial for balancing side-effects and clinical effectiveness. Unfortunately, evidence-based guidelines on cognitive testing following ECT are lacking. A frequently used test in global ECT practice is the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). We examined the change of the MMSE and its performance in identifying a decline in predefined neuropsychological measures sensitive to ECT-induced cognitive changes: verbal recall and verbal fluency.

METHODS: The mean MMSE scores pre- and one week post-ECT were compared using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The Reliable Change Index was calculated for all cognitive measures to indicate whether an individual’s change score from pre- to post-ECT is considered statistically significant. The sensitivity and specificity of the MMSE were calculated.

RESULTS: 426 patients with depression from five sites were included from the Dutch ECT Consortium. The mean MMSE increased significantly from 26.2 (SD=3.9) pre-ECT to 26.8 (SD=3.8) post-ECT (p=0.002). 36 patients (8.5%) showed a significant decline in MMSE score post-ECT. The sensitivity of the MMSE in identifying patients who experienced a significant decline in verbal recall or verbal fluency ranged from 3.6% to 11.1%. The specificity of the MMSE in identifying patients who did not experience a significant decline in verbal recall or verbal fluency ranged from 95.6% to 96.6%.

CONCLUSIONS: Given the very low sensitivity of the MMSE, we propose reconsidering the prominence of the MMSE in ECT practice and cognitive monitoring guidelines, advocating for a more comprehensive approach to assess ECT-induced cognitive changes.

PMID:39128496 | DOI:10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.08.002