Kenneth Pittman - Comment

As a medical resident in Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry, and Child Psychiatry who has seen the enormous benefits of ECT in some patients, I would strongly object to any movement by the FDA that results in this treatment becoming unavailable through insurance, etc. While ECT is not a first-line therapy, it has enormous benefits in some patients that are unable to respond to traditional therapies. There are clear side effects of ECT, but for people with severe mental illnesses these side effects are often much more tolerable than the illnesses themselves. In some cases ECT is the only thing that keeps people out of state hospitals. The FDA should not make any movement that has the potential of taking away this potentially life saving treatment from those with severe mental illnesses. It's the equivalent of taking chemotherapy from those with severe oncologic illnesses (another lifesaving treatment with clear side effects).