Ketamine Treatment Options

This research project is geared towards geriatric analgesia in the Emergency Department (ED) with a goal of reducing the administration of opioid pain medications to elderly patients, thereby avoiding the commonly occurring, severe side effects associated with such medications, including hypotension, respiratory depression, altered mental status, delirium, as well as nausea/vomiting and constipation. The primary outcome of the study will be difference in pain score from baseline to 30 minutes post-medication administration. This project has the potential to change and modify the ED approach to geriatric analgesia by virtue of minimizing the use of opioid administration in elderly patients. T Read Less

Based on the pharmacological class of rapastinel, this study will be conducted to evaluate the abuse potential of single doses of rapastinel as compared with ketamine, a NMDAR antagonist that is a Schedule III dissociative anesthetic, and placebo in recreational polydrug users. Read Less

The relationship between depression and trauma is well established. Co-occuring depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with more severe symptoms and lower levels of functioning. Veterans with both depression and PTSD have been shown to be at much higher risk of suicide than individuals with only one of these disorders. Ketamine has been shown to have rapid antidepressant effects and also therapeutic action over PTSD symptoms. The purpose of this study is to see whether ketamine, when given as repeated infusions, can produce quick and sustained improvement in depression and PTSD symptoms for individuals who have not had their symptoms effectively treated by current treatments. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness and safety of ketamine and etomidate during rapid sequence intubation (RSI). Read Less

Opioid pain medications such as morphine and dilaudid are commonly used in emergency departments to treat pain in patients. Physicians are familiar with the side effects of these medications; the most concerning of which is slowing or stopping a patient's breathing, as well as dangerously lowering their blood pressure. An alternative medication is ketamine. This medication is also commonly used in the emergency department, although it is typically used to help sedate patients for uncomfortable procedures. Ketamine has also been used for pain control, but in a much lower dosage that does not sedate patients. When used for analgesia, it has typically been administered in combination with opioid pain medications. To date, there is no study that looks at the effectiveness and safety of using a low dose ketamine alone in comparison to the use of morphine. The purpose of this study is to measure how well low-dose ketamine treats pain compared to morphine and to look at how often serious side effects are seen with each medication. Read Less

This study aims to determine if a single intravenous (IV) dose of ketamine given in the emergency department (ED) can provide a long term reduction in suicidal ideation, lower time to ED discharge, and increase discharge to home or voluntary treatment facilities all while being safe. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to measure the amount of ketamine in blood over time in subjects diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and explore the anti-depressive effects of ketamine delivered by transdermal patch. Read Less

Cocaine dependence involves problematic neuroadaptations, such as heightened reactivity to cocaine cues, that may be responsive to pharmacological modulation of glutamatergic circuits. Despite promising preclinical findings with n-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAr) modulators, studies with human subjects have been unsuccessful to date. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the effects of the NMDAr antagonist ketamine, recently found to have potent therapeutic effects in humans, on cue-induced craving and impaired motivation for quitting cocaine in cocaine dependent participants, 24-hours post-infusion. Read Less

This project will evaluate the effect of a single sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine on the time to first cocaine use and abstinence rates in 60 treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals receiving mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) therapy, using a 5 week combined laboratory-inpatient and outpatient double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. Read Less

The purpose of the study is to find the dose of rapidly administered ketamine in 3 different pediatric age groups (2-5, 6-11 and 12-17) for abscess drainage and fracture reduction. Ketamine is the most common drug administered to children to facilitate painful procedures in the emergency setting because it achieves potent sedation, pain relief and amnesia with minimal adverse cardiopulmonary effects.(1-5) However, the 1-2 hour recovery period (1,6) associated with standard ketamine administration guidelines(7) strains work flow because it requires bedside one-on-one nurse monitoring in a treatment room, tying up these limited and valuable resources. Consequently, a combination of two other drugs, propofol + fentanyl (P/F), with recovery of 20-30 minutes, is rapidly gaining popularity for procedural sedation despite more frequent respiratory depression, apnea and hypotension caused by this technique.(2,4,8,9) The investigators believe recovery associated with our novel method for administering ketamine is significantly shorter than with the standard larger dose more slowly administered ketamine technique(7). Through the investigators clinical experience, the investigators have found rapid infusion of smaller than standard doses of ketamine safely achieves the drug's sedative effect, with the benefit of more rapid recovery due to the use of a smaller dose. However, this novel technique challenges published beliefs that time of recovery from ketamine sedation does not differ significantly with the dose administered, within the usual dose ranges, and that rapid infusion may cause respiratory depression, similar to that seen with other classes of sedative-analgesic drugs.(7,10) the investigators believe the slow infusion recommended by standard guidelines(7) requires a larger ketamine dose necessary to achieve effective sedation, and, consequently, prolongs recovery. It is the prolonged recovery that has prompted increased use of other less safe but briefer sedatives, such as propofol/fentanyl. By demonstrating patients recover rapidly with new ketamine technique, without increased adverse cardiopulmonary effects, the investigators will provide clinicians with an important new method for ketamine procedural sedation. The investigators believe clinicians will prefer more rapid recovery ketamine technique because it is safer and reduces pain and distress better than the propofol/fentanyl combination for sedation. The investigators complete proposal requires two steps. In Step One, this proposal, the investigators will determine the minimum effective dose of rapidly infused ketamine that achieves deep sedation for at least 5 minutes in 95% of children (ED95). Two groups of patients will be studied: one group is patients undergoing abscess incision and drainage and the other group is patients undergoing fracture reduction in our Emergency Department. The investigators believe that the ED95 is different for both the groups as the severity of pain is different. The investigators will compare the safety and recovery times to published standard ketamine techniques. In the following study, Step Two, the investigators will compare this novel technique, in a blinded randomized trial using the ED95 ketamine dose determined in Step One to the standard ketamine technique to determine if the novel technique results in significantly shorter recovery without an increase in the frequency of adverse effects. The study the investigators are proposing in this submission is Step One only. Read Less

This research study is being done to figure out the best approach to treatment of pre-hospital agitation. It will compare two tiered dosing treatment protocols, one ketamine-based and one midazolam-based. Agitation is a state of extreme emotional disturbance where patients can become physically aggressive or violent, endangering themselves and those who are caring for them. Often chemical substances or severe mental illness are involved in this level of agitation. Specifically, the investigators are interested in studying agitation that is treated in the prehospital setting by paramedics. This study's hypothesis is a ketamine-based protocol will achieve a faster time to adequate sedation than a midazolam-based protocol for treatment of agitation in the prehospital environment. This study will observe the natural history of an emergency medical services standard operating procedure change from a ketamine-based protocol to a midazolam-based protocol. Read Less

Ketamine has been shown to decrease symptoms of anxious depression quickly. This decrease has been shown to last for up to one month. MRI technology will be used before and after ketamine for patients with depression to examine the extent to which certain brain areas predict ketamine's antidepressant effects. Read Less