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Antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects of ketamine in treatment-resistant depression associated with psychiatric and personality comorbidities: A double-blind randomized trial.

G. Ahmed, Y. Elserogy, G. M. A. Elfadl, K. Ghada Abdelsalam, M. Ali

Journal of Affective Disorders January 6, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.005 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Randomized controlled trial Double-blind Peer reviewed
Sample size 36
Population Patients with treatment-resistant depression
Intervention Ketamine
Dose one infusion per week for two weeks
Duration 2-week intervention
Topics Depression Esketamine Ketamine
Citations 24
Key findings Ketamine infusions reduce suicidal ideation and depression in treatment-resistant depression regardless of other psychiatric or personality comorbidities.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effects of ketamine treatment on depression and suicidal ideation in treatment resistant depression (TRD) and to determine whether they are influenced by other psychiatric and personality comorbidities.

Methods: A randomized double-blind parallel-arm controlled study on 36 patients with TRD. Patients were divided into two treatment groups: ketamine (K group) and placebo (P group). Patients in the K and P groups received one infusion of medicine per week for two weeks. All participants were assessed using the Structured Interview for the Five-Factor Personality Model (SIFFM), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Suicide Probability Scale (SPS), and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL 90).

Results: After treatment, there was a significant decrease in the total HDRS and SPS scores in the K group compared to the P group, but the magnitude of response was not influenced by the presence of other psychiatric symptoms. Regression model, only receive ketamine treatment was significant factor for improve suicide and depression scores. LIMITATIONS lack of data on other outcomes that are important to patients (e.g., quality of life, cognition) and need for a larger sample size.

Conclusions: Ketamine infusions in TRD reduce suicidal ideation and depression despite the presence other psychiatric and personality disorders.

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on ketamine for depression, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Antidepressant Efficacy of Ketamine in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression: A Two-Site Randomized Controlled Trial Patients with treatment-resistant major depression experiencing a major depressive episode 2013 Randomized controlled trial n = 73
Efficacy and Safety of Flexibly Dosed Esketamine Nasal Spray Combined With a Newly Initiated Oral Antidepressant in Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Randomized Double-Blind Active-Controlled Study Adults with moderate to severe nonpsychotic depression and a history of nonresponse to... 2019 Phase 3, double-blind, active-controlled, multicenter randomized controlled trial n = 227
Efficacy of Esketamine Nasal Spray Plus Oral Antidepressant Treatment for Relapse Prevention in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression Adults with treatment-resistant depression who achieved stable remission or stable... 2019 Phase 3, multicenter, double-blind, randomized withdrawal study n = 297
Efficacy and Safety of Intranasal Esketamine Adjunctive to Oral Antidepressant Therapy in Treatment-Resistant Depression Adults with DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of major depressive disorder and history of inadequate... 2017 Phase 2, double-blind, doubly randomized, delayed-start, placebo-controlled study n = 67
Efficacy and Safety of Intranasal Esketamine for the Rapid Reduction of Symptoms of Depression and Suicidality in Patients at Imminent Risk for Suicide: Results of a Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study Depressed patients at imminent risk for suicide 2018 Randomized controlled trial n = 68

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