Effect of electroconvulsive therapy on hematological parameters.

Although a complete blood count is part of the evaluation before the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), there are no known hematological contraindications for the procedure. A preliminary study was done on 31 randomly selected psychiatric patients (chronic schizophrenia, n=10; acute depression, n=8; acute mania, n=6; acute psychosis, n=6; delusional disorder, n=1) receiving ECT to study its hematological effects. Blood samples were drawn just before and 0, 1 and 2 h after ECT. Hemoglobin (Hb%), total and differential leukocyte count (TLC and DLC), red blood cell (RBC) count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and platelet count were measured on a fully automated hematology analyzer (Sysmex K-1000). Significant changes were found in TLC, percentage of polymorphs and lymphocytes, and Hb%. Changes in other parameters were not statistically significant. More such studies are needed to substantiate these observations and to understand the mechanism and implication of these effects.