Electroconvulsive Therapy and Ketamine Infusion in Patients with Bipolar I or II Depression: A Case Series.
Psychopharmacology bulletin June 5, 2026 Keming Gao, Evrim Bayrak Oruc, Heather Wobbe et al.
Among six patients with bipolar depression who received both electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and ketamine infusion (KET-IFU) in routine care, most responded well to ECT, with four showing at least 50% improvement on a depression self-report scale. Half of those who responded to ECT also responded to KET-IFU, though the onset of antidepressant effect differed between treatments. One patient did not respond to either treatment. Subjective memory concerns led five patients to try KET-IFU after ECT, though their cognitive test scores were normal. No patient stopped KET-IFU due to side effects. The findings suggest that some patients with bipolar depression may benefit similarly from both treatments, but head-to-head randomized studies are needed.