[DanBC]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21609510

> We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of treatments in mild to moderate and severe depression, and in treatment-resistant depression? Which interventions reduce relapse rates? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to June 2009 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). RESULTS:

> We found 88 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

This meta analysis found that ECT was beneficial.

The point of ECT is not to act as a long lasting cure, it's to get someone out of a depressive episode so that they can engage in work to treat their depression - it's a life saving short term intervention that gives them time and space to do other work.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-...