Esketamine vs. ECT: a new hope for suicidal depression?

NCT ID NCT06355180

First seen Oct 31, 2025 · Last updated Jun 19, 2026 · Updated 35 times

Summary

This study tested whether esketamine, a fast-acting antidepressant, works as well as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for quickly reducing suicidal thoughts in people with depression or bipolar disorder. 340 adults received either esketamine infusions or ECT over two weeks. The main goal was to see how many people no longer had significant suicidal thoughts after treatment.

Disclaimer Read more

This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.

Get updates

Get notified about this study

Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for SUICIDAL IDEATION are added.

Our safety recommendation!

By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Beijing Anding Hospital

    Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100088, China

  • Beijing Chaoyang District Third Hospital

    Beijing, China

  • Beijing Daxing District Xinkang Hospital

    Beijing, China

  • Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Mental Health Center

    Hohhot, China

  • The Second People's Hospital of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture

    Dali, China

  • Wuhu Fourth People's Hospital

    Wuhu, Anhui, 241002, China

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance

Esketamine

What this could lead to

If esketamine works as well as ECT, it could offer a faster, less invasive option to reduce suicidal thoughts in people with depression.

What could go wrong

This is a non-inferiority trial, so esketamine may not be better than ECT. Results are preliminary and need confirmation in larger, longer studies.

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

bipolar I disorder bipolar II disorder major depressive disorder mood disorder Suicidal Ideation

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.