AN EVALUATION OF SHOCK THERAPY

In view of these findings, it becomes imperative that shock studies concentrate on investigating the readmission and deteriorating aspects of shock therapy. The findings tend to indicate that shock therapy increases the frequency of readmission and thus raises the question of whether the time saved in the hospital at the first admission is not lost by the early readmission following shock treatment. This is particularly significant since it seems likely that shock therapy does produce deterioration and personality changes which may explain this increased readmission frequency. It is hoped that this paper may stimulate some research in this direction and that more extensive studies will be made.