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A longitudinal case series of IM ketamine for patients with severe and enduring eating disorders and comorbid treatment‐resistant depression

Terry Schwartz, Mary Ellen Trunko, David Feifel, Emily Lopez, Danika Peterson, Guido K W Frank, Walter H. Kaye

Clinical Case Reports April 4, 2021 DOI: 10.1002/ccr3.3869 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Case series Longitudinal Case report Peer reviewed
Sample size 4
Population Patients with enduring eating disorders and treatment-resistant depression
Intervention Ketamine
Duration 12+ months
Topics Ketamine Depression Esketamine
Keywords Depression economics Eating disorders
Citations 52
Key findings Repeated ketamine treatment over 12+ months improved depression but produced only modest changes in eating disorder symptoms.

Abstract

Abstract Severe and enduring eating disorders (EDs) have the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses (Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2011, 68 , 724), especially when comorbid with treatment‐resistant depression (TRD) (Psychiatr Res, 2016, 244 , 45). We report on four patients with enduring EDs and TRD treated with repeat ketamine over 12 + months, showing improvement in depression with only modest changes in ED symptoms.

Comparable studies

Other case reports and case series on ketamine for depression, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Electroconvulsive Therapy, Ketamine, and Esketamine in a Patient with Major Depressive Disorder and Multiple Comorbidities: A Case Report over 10-year Treatment from Adolescence to Adulthood. A patient with treatment-resistant depression and comorbid generalized anxiety... 2025 Case report n = 1
Effects of intranasal (S)-ketamine on Veterans with co-morbid treatment-resistant depression and PTSD: A retrospective case series Veterans with co-morbid depression and PTSD 2022 Retrospective case series n = 35
Case report: Intramuscular ketamine or intranasal esketamine as a treatment in four patients with major depressive disorder and comorbid anorexia nervosa Patients with anorexia nervosa and a comorbid depressive disorder treated at a private... 2023 Case report n = 4
Repeated oral esketamine in patients with treatment resistant depression and comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder Patients with treatment-resistant depression and comorbid PTSD 2023 Case series n = 5
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in adolescents with multiple psychiatric diagnoses. Adolescents aged 14–19 with comorbid psychiatric diagnoses including... 2023 Case series n = 4

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