This case series documents local experience using accelerated theta-burst repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a supplementary treatment for depression in both major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). Nine consenting patients (MDD = 7; BD = 2) each received 20 accelerated theta-burst sessions over 8 days. Improvement was monitored using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale at baseline, at day 5 and at day 8 of rTMS treatment. We performed a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test to determine whether there was a difference in scores from baseline to post-treatment. The CES-D scores decreased significantly from baseline to post-treatment (Z = −2.547, p = 0.011) with five patients experiencing at least a 50% symptom reduction on the CES-D. CGI severity scores also decreased significantly between baseline and post-treatment (Z = −2.547, p = 0.011). The most commonly reported adverse effect was mild headaches, lasting a few hours during and after rTMS treatment. The findings suggest that the accelerated theta-burst rTMS protocol for depression is well tolerated with most patients also experiencing symptomatic improvement by day 8.

中文翻译：

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加速Theta-burst重复经颅磁刺激治疗南非抑郁症。

该病例系列记录了使用加速theta-burst重复经颅磁刺激（rTMS）作为主要抑郁症（MDD）和双相情感障碍（BD）抑郁症的补充治疗的本地经验。9名同意患者（MDD = 7； BD = 2）在8天内接受了20次加速theta-burst疗程。在基线，rTMS治疗的第5天和第8天，使用流行病学研究中心抑郁（CES-D）量表和临床总体印象（CGI）量表监测改善情况。我们进行了Wilcoxon配对配对符号秩检验，以确定从基线到治疗后分数是否存在差异。从基线到治疗后，CES-D评分显着下降（Z = -2.547，p = 0.011），其中五名患者的CES-D症状至少减轻了50％。在基线和治疗后之间，CGI严重程度评分也显着降低（Z = -2.547，p = 0.011）。最常见的不良反应是轻度头痛，在rTMS治疗期间和之后持续数小时。研究结果表明，对于大多数抑郁症患者，加速theta-burst rTMS方案的耐受性良好，大多数患者在第8天也出现了症状改善。