Efficacy and Safety of Ketamine vs Electroconvulsive Therapy Among Patients With Major Depressive Episode: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
January 25, 2023 DOI: 10.64239/pi-qt4702 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Meta-analysis Randomized |
|---|---|
| Population | Patients with major depression |
| Interventions | Electroconvulsive therapy Ketamine |
| Duration | 3–4 weeks of treatment; longer-term outcomes at 2 and 10 months after treatment |
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key findings | Electroconvulsive therapy is markedly more effective than ketamine for treating major depression after 3–4 weeks, but no difference was found at longer-term follow-ups. |
Abstract
For the treatment of major depression, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is markedly more effective than ketamine, per this meta-analysis of 6 randomized head-to-head comparison studies, at the end of 3–4 weeks of treatment. In 2 of these studies that measured longer-term outcomes (i.e., 2 and 10 months after treatment, respectively), no difference was found in ketamine vs ECT.
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 |