Somatic symptom disorder treated with electroconvulsive therapy

Written by Borisovskaya A, Augsburger JA

Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a challenging condition to treat with chronic pain, a common and disabling symptom. We present a patient who received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for SSD with significant improvement in pain and gastrointestinal symptoms. We also present a brief literature review of similar cases treated with ECT. Preliminary evidence suggests that ECT should be considered for treatment of SSD comorbid with major depressive disorder, when standard treatments fail. Further research is needed to clarify whether ECT can be used for SSD without associated depression. Somatic symptom disorder (SSD), as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of...

To view this content, please register now for access

It's completely free