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Clinical outcomes of ketamine in patients with traumatic brain injury: A systematic review.

Mohammad Sameer, Duaa Al Abbas

International journal of critical illness and injury science 2024 DOI: 10.4103/ijciis.ijciis_36_24 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Systematic review Peer reviewed
Sample size 886
Population Traumatic brain injury patients
Interventions Ketamine-induced anesthesia ketamine sedation ketamine bolus ketamine-midazolam treatment
Topics Ketamine Esketamine
Keywords Sedatives Traumatic brain injury Ventilation Traumatic-brain-injury Anesthesia-and-sedation Ketamine-therapy Critical-care Neuro-medicine
Citations 1
Key findings Ketamine-induced anesthesia produces inconsistent effects on intracranial pressure and cerebral perfusion pressure in TBI patients, with some studies showing improvement, others worsening, and many showing no effect.

Abstract

The current literature provides contradictory results concerning the impact of ketamine-induced anesthesia on traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the potential of ketamine boluses to influence the brain pathophysiology in TBI patients. Twenty-one studies (n = 886) were extracted from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library. The primary endpoints included intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP). The secondary endpoints were mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), electroencephalography (EEG), mean cerebral blood flow velocity, jugular oxygen saturation, ventilation, neurological outcomes, mortality, and overall efficacy and side-effects of ketamine-induced anesthesia. Four studies indicated a statistically significant decline in ICP in TBI patients, with ketamine sedation. Contrastingly, two studies revealed statistically significant ICP elevations, after ketamine-induced anesthesia, in TBI patients. Five studies negated any correlation between ketamine dosages and ICP changes. Three studies indicated a statistically significant increase in CPP after ketamine-induced anesthesia in TBI patients. One study revealed CPP decline after the administration of ketamine-midazolam treatment to TBI patients. Five studies revealed no noticeable influence of ketamine bolus on CPP in TBI patients. Similarly, inconsistent variations were observed in most of the secondary endpoints, including electroencephalography, neurologic outcomes, and ketamine-related side effects (all P <0.05). This systematic review emphasizes the role of ketamine-induced anesthesia in inconsistently improving or deteriorating clinical outcomes in patients with TBI. Future studies should evaluate the predominant causes (i.e., factors and attributes) of ketamine-related clinical outcomes in the TBI setting.

Comparable studies

Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on ketamine, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The effect of a single dose of intravenous ketamine on suicidal ideation: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis Depressed patients with suicidal ideation at baseline 2017 Systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis n = 167
Ketamine use: a review Ketamine users 2011 Systematic review
Ketamine and Other NMDA Antagonists: Early Clinical Trials and Possible Mechanisms in Depression Participants with major depression in placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized... 2015 Systematic review and meta-analysis
Ketamine and postoperative pain – a quantitative systematic review of randomised trials Surgical patients from 25 countries 2004 Systematic review n = 2,839
Side-effects associated with ketamine use in depression: a systematic review. Patients with depression 2018 Systematic review

Citations in the library

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