[Electroconvulsive therapy].

Within psychiatry, no treatment is as effective - or controversial - as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and ECT is the only non-pharmacological treatment in widespread clinical psychiatry. The history of ECT as a psychiatric treatment is outlined in this review, and the efficacy in four diagnostic entities is reviewed along with side effects. The evidence shows compelling effect of ECT when administered within affective disorders, delirium and psychotic states.