Comparison of the Hemodynamic Effects of Two Anesthetics; Sodium Thiopental and Propofol in Patients Undergoing Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the main therapeutic technique in psychiatric diseases. The use of anesthesia for ECT is necessary. In these patients, selection of anesthesia with minimal hemodynamic changes is very important. The aim of this study was to compare the hemodynamic effects of two anesthetics including sodium thiopental and propofol in patients undergoing ECT. This study was performed on 84 patients (50 males and 34 females) who were anesthetized for ECT in 22- Bahaman Hospital, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (QUMS). Initially, the hemodynamic status of patients was recorded. Then, they randomly received either sodium thiopental or propofol as an anesthetic and succinylcholine as a muscle relaxant. Hemodynamic changes, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate in the 1, 3 and 10 minutes after ECT, as well as seizure duration and recovery time were recorded. The data were analyzed by SPSS v.20 using independent t-test. the sodium thiopental group, showed the highest changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in the third minute (45%, 64% and 26% respectively). In the propofol group, the highest systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure changes were 55%, 64% and 43% respectively, at the 10th minute, but the highest pulse rate (33%) occurred in the 3rd minute. The blood pressure changes were significant between the two groups (p<0.05). The post-shock seizure duration was less with sodium thiopental, but recovery from anesthesia was shorter with propofol (p<0.05). Our findings showed that in the anesthetic required for electroshock, sodium thiopental had a slightly better hemodynamic stability than propofol. Therefore, it seems appropriate to use it as an anesthetic for ECT.