Effective doses of esketamine oral or esketamine intranasal for the prevention of preoperative anxiety in pediatric patients: A randomized double-blind dose-finding trial
Hongfei Xiong, Yingxue Xu, Jiayi Liu, Guangbo Liu, Yunyun Zhang, Ziwen Wei, Wenwen Liang, Xuemei Zhao, Siyuan Li, Gang Xiao, Rongliang Xue
Medicine March 6, 2026 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000048048 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Double-blind Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Pediatric population |
| Intervention | Esketamine |
| Dose | oral ED95: 8.2125 mg/kg; intranasal ED95: 2.1770 mg/kg |
| Topics | Anxiety Ketamine Esketamine |
| Keywords | Nasal administration Anesthesia Randomized controlled trial Adverse effect Clinical trial |
| Key findings | Single-dose esketamine, administered orally or intranasally, effectively mitigates preoperative anxiety in children, with specific ED95 values for each route. |
Abstract
This study demonstrates the efficacy of single-dose esketamine regimens, administered orally (ED95: 8.2125 mg/kg; 95% CI: 7.4250-8.4597 mg/kg) and intranasally (ED95: 2.1770 mg/kg; 95% CI: 2.0952-2.1958 mg/kg), in mitigating preoperative anxiety within a pediatric population. These findings highlight the safety and efficacy of esketamine for this patient group.