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Could a common blood pressure pill stop ECT-related delirium?

NCT ID NCT04828226

Symptom relief Sponsor: Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tested whether giving clonidine, a blood pressure medication, before electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) could reduce the confusion and agitation that often follows the procedure. ECT is effective for severe depression and bipolar disorder, but up to 65% of patients experience post-treatment delirium. The trial involved 130 adults scheduled for ECT, comparing clonidine to a placebo. The goal was to see if clonidine could make ECT safer and more accessible.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
Clonidine
What this could lead to
If it works, this could make electroconvulsive therapy safer and more comfortable by reducing post-treatment confusion and agitation.
What could go wrong
This is a small, single-center trial with 130 participants, so results may not apply broadly. Clonidine can cause low blood pressure or slow heart rate.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 4

Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.

Participants

130 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Apr 2021

Finished

May 2026

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 18 and more; * Scheduled for an elective series of ambulatory ECT sessions at the University Hospital Bern; * Informed Consent as documented by signature (Appendix Informed Consent Form). Exclusion Criteria: * Contraindications to the study drug, e. g. known allergy or hypersensitivity, hypotension, bradycardia, higher grade atrioventricular block; * On regular Clonidine for another indication (e.g. arterial hypertension) * Patients undergoing emergency ECT; * Unable to consent (incapable of judgment, next-of-kin consent necessary or under tutelage); * Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e. g. due to language barrier; * Previous enrolment into the current study; * Participation in another study with investigational drug within the 30 days preceding and during the present study; * Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons. * Women who are pregnant or breast feeding; * Intention to become pregnant during the course of the study; * Lack of safe contraception, defined as: Female participants of childbearing potential, not using and not willing to continue using a medically reliable method of contraception for the entire study duration (and 4 weeks thereafter), such as oral, injectable, or implantable contraceptives, or intrauterine contraceptive devices, or who are not using any other method considered sufficiently reliable by the investigator in individual cases. Female participants who are surgically sterilised / hysterectomised or post-menopausal for longer than 2 years are not considered as being of child bearing potential.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

bipolar disorder catatonia delirium major depressive disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Bipolar disorder Catatonia Delirium postseizure Major depressive disorder

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern

    Bern, 3010, Switzerland

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