Bemegride lengthens seizure duration during electric convulsive therapy in a schizophrenic patient with increased seizure threshold.

A 48-year-old man who had a history of schizophrenia for 30 years was treated with electroconvulsive therapies. Because of poor seizure even at maximum electrical dosage, aminophylline was administered just before initiating electroconvulsive therapy. Although aminophylline augmentation lengthened the seizure duration, tachycardia and hypertension were observed. Therefore, we switched to bemegride, an antagonist to barbiturate, and seizure length was improved without any side effects. The present case suggested that bemegride is one of the alternative measures in patients with poor seizure quality.