Review Leerboek Elektroconvulsietherapie: Editors: Verwey, B, van Waarde J. Uitgeverij Boom|de Tijdstroom

Abstract

T he handbook “Elektroconvulsietherapie” has 400 pages and is an up-to-datemultiauthor book for professionals. It covers state-of-the art reviews on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The book is almost twice as thick as the former edition (2005), indicating the growth of scientific research of ECT in the past 15 years. The 2005 edition complained about the small amount of patients treated with ECT in the Netherlands compared with other European countries. Unfortunately, in the Netherlands, in 2019, there is still a very low application rate of ECT in psychiatric disorders, even in persistent depressive disorder. The low application rate may stem from professionals' inadequate knowledge of ECT or the premature use of the handicap model in depressive disorder wherein treatment is limited to mere support. The publication of this new edition in The Netherlands comes, therefore, at the right time. In the general introduction, the authors postulate that knowledge of ECT is essential to perform this treatment adequately. The book comprises 20 chapters which are logically divided into 3 sections: clinical aspects, research aspects, and social aspects. The clinical-scientific section consists of 8 chapters: indications and efficacy of mood disorders, indications and efficacy in other disorders, side-effects, high-risk patients, comorbidity, and there are 4 chapters about the practical aspects of the treatment. The literature in the chapters about indications iswell summarized. Chapter 3 covers the side effects. Chapter 4 describes the practical aspects and anesthesia for ECT and offers an extensive flow diagram for pre-ECTassessment of patients with cardiovascular risk or cerebrovascular condition. The ECT session itself is described point by point and provides a good guideline for ECT centers. The next chapters review literature regarding high-risk patients and describe the more practical aspects of ECT. The second section deals with the scientific aspects of ECTand is divided into 7 chapters. The chapters cover electricity theory, anatomy, and neurophysiology of ECT, electroencephalography, and clinical and