Little information, great impact? A clinical tool for the prediction of electroconvulsive therapy effectiveness in depression

Our prospective study shows that an instrument consisting of seven clinical items is able to predict ECT response in depression with good accuracy. Limitations include a relatively small sample size and the lack of further potential predictors suggested by recent studies. GREAT will thus be modified to further improve its accuracy. Currently, it may give clinicians a relevant estimate of the likelihood and the extent of the individual response to ECT.