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Case Reports
. 2013 Apr 23;5(1):e3.
doi: 10.4081/mi.2013.e3. eCollection 2013 Feb 11.

Severe Depression with Cotard's Phenomenon: Treatment of a Capacitated Patient Within the United Kingdom's Mental Health Act 2007

Faraz Mughal  1 , Simon B Menezes  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Severe Depression with Cotard's Phenomenon: Treatment of a Capacitated Patient Within the United Kingdom's Mental Health Act 2007

Faraz Mughal et al. Ment Illn. .

Abstract

Treatment of Cotard's syndrome with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been seen to be an effective treatment option when pharmacological options are not successful. Recent changes in the Mental Health Act 2007 used within the United Kingdom has resulted in clinicians unable to prescribe treatment for patients who have capacity but are not providing consent for treatment. We report a case of a patient in the UK with Cotard's phenomenon and severe depression, where the only effective treatment of ECT was restricted due to changes in mental health law. The role of maintenance ECT as well as the ethical dilemma faced is discussed.

Keywords: Cotard’s syndrome; capacity; depression; electroconvulsive therapy; mental health act.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: the authors declare no potential conflict of interests.

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