UNLABELLED: We evaluated reports of randomized clinical trials in the perioperative and intensive care setting concerning ketamine's effects on the brain in patients with, or at risk for, neurological injury. We also reviewed other studies in humans on the drug's effects on the brain, and reports that examined ketamine in experimental brain injury. In the clinical setting, level II evidence...
Background: Ketamine is increasingly used in pain therapy but may impair brain functions. Mood and cognitive capacities were compared after equianalgesic small-dose S(+)-, R(-)-, and racemic ketamine in healthy volunteers. Methods: Twenty-four subjects received intravenous 0.5 mg/kg racemic, 0.25 mg/kg S(+)-, and 1.0 mg/kg R(-)-ketamine in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, crossover...
Ketamine has a special position among anesthetic drugs. It was introduced into clinical practice >30 yr ago with the hope that it would function as a "monoanesthetic" drug: inducing analgesia, amnesia, loss of consciousness, and immobility. This dream was not fulfilled because significant side effects were soon reported. With the introduction of other IV anesthetic drugs, ketamine's role...