Is oral clonidine effective in modifying the acute hemodynamic response during electroconvulsive therapy?
Author(s): Fu W, Stool LA, White PF, Husain MM Affiliation(s): Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 75235-9068, USA. Publication date & source: 1998-05, Anesth Analg., 86(5):1127-30. Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial Clonidine decreases the stress-induced sympathoadrenal responses to painful stimuli and improves hemodynamic stability during general anesthesia. Because acute hypertensive responses are often observed immediately after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), we designed a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study to assess the effects of four different oral doses of clonidine (0.05-0.3 mg per os) on the acute hemodynamic response to ECT. Anesthesia was induced with methohexital 1 mg/kg followed by succinylcholine, 1.3 mg/kg i.v. A total of 110 treatments were evaluated in 22 patients. Noninvasive mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) values, duration
