Should ketamine be used for the clinical treatment of depression?
Shalini Arunogiri, Nicholas A Keks, Judy Hope
Australasian Psychiatry August 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1177/1039856216629839 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ketamine |
| Topics | Depression Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key findings | Concludes that although intravenous ketamine has been studied for depressive symptoms for about 15 years, evidence is insufficient to support its clinical use for depression outside research settings, given unresolved questions about effectiveness, safety, dosing, and repeated administration, plus concerns about adverse effects, abuse potential, and addiction risk. |
Abstract
Objective: There has been widespread interest from the public and media in the potential of ketamine as a novel treatment for depression. This paper reviews whether current evidence supports the use of ketamine for the clinical treatment of depression.
Conclusions: Clinical trials have investigated the use of intravenous ketamine for the treatment of depressive symptoms over the past 15 years. However, there remain many unanswered questions regarding its effectiveness, safety, and the route, dose and regimen for repeated administration. Experts have also raised concerns regarding ketamine’s adverse effects, abuse potential and the risk of addiction. At this stage, the use of ketamine in the treatment of depression remains in the realm of research settings.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on ketamine for depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synthesizing the Evidence for Ketamine and Esketamine in Treatment-Resistant Depression: An International Expert Opinion on the Available Evidence and Implementation Adults with treatment-resistant depression | 2021 | Review | |
| Ketamine: a paradigm shift for depression research and treatment | 2019 | Review | |
| Rapid‐acting antidepressant ketamine, its metabolites and other candidates: A historical overview and future perspective | 2019 | Review | |
| Ketamine: A tale of two enantiomers | 2020 | Review | |
| Molecular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant actions of arketamine: beyond the NMDA receptor | 2021 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 4
- Antidepressant Efficacy of Ketamine in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression: A Two-Site Randomized Controlled Trial American Journal of Psychiatry August 28, 2013
- Taming the Ketamine Tiger Anesthesiology August 6, 2010
- Ketamine infusions for treatment resistant depression: a series of 28 patients treated weekly or twice weekly in an ECT clinic Journal of Psychopharmacology June 1, 2014
- Safety and efficacy of repeated-dose intravenous ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. Biological Psychiatry January 15, 2010