OPEN Foundation

W. McDonald

Blood pressure safety of subanesthetic ketamine for depression: A report on 684 infusions

Abstract

BACKGROUND:
The dissociative anesthetic agent ketamine is increasingly being utilized to treat depression, despite not having FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval for this indication. There are many questions about the potential risks of this treatment and hence the proper setting and degree of monitoring required to ensure patient safety. There is limited data about the cardiovascular safety of ketamine when administered at subanesthetic doses to treat depression.
METHODS:
66 patients in the Department of Psychiatry at Emory University received a total of 684 ketamine infusions between 2014 and 2016. Ketamine was dosed at 0.5 mg/kg body weight and infused over 40 min. Blood pressure was measured every 10 min during the infusions and every 15 min thereafter.
RESULTS:
Mean age of the patients was 56.7 years, 87.9% had unipolar depression and 36.1% had essential hypertension. No infusions were discontinued due to instability of vital signs, adverse physiological consequences or acute psychotomimetic effects. The biggest increases in blood pressure were measured at 30 min (systolic 3.28 mmHg, diastolic 3.17 mmHg). Hypertensive patients had higher blood pressure peaks during the infusions. Blood pressures returned to baseline during post-infusion monitoring. There was no development of tolerance to the blood pressure elevating effects of ketamine between the first and sixth infusions.
LIMITATIONS:
This is a single site, retrospective analysis, of patients who were spontaneously seeking clinical care.
CONCLUSIONS:
The blood pressure changes observed when ketamine is administered over 40 min at 0.5 mg/kg for the treatment of depression are small, well tolerated and clinically insignificant.
Riva-Posse, P., Reiff, C. M., Edwards, J. A., Job, G. P., Galendez, G. C., Garlow, S. J., … & McDonald, W. M. (2018). Blood pressure safety of subanesthetic ketamine for depression: A report on 684 infusions. Journal of affective disorders236, 291-297. 10.1016/j.jad.2018.02.025
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A Consensus Statement on the Use of Ketamine in the Treatment of Mood Disorders

Abstract

IMPORTANCE:
Several studies now provide evidence of ketamine hydrochloride’s ability to produce rapid and robust antidepressant effects in patients with mood and anxiety disorders that were previously resistant to treatment. Despite the relatively small sample sizes, lack of longer-term data on efficacy, and limited data on safety provided by these studies, they have led to increased use of ketamine as an off-label treatment for mood and other psychiatric disorders.
OBSERVATIONS:
This review and consensus statement provides a general overview of the data on the use of ketamine for the treatment of mood disorders and highlights the limitations of the existing knowledge. While ketamine may be beneficial to some patients with mood disorders, it is important to consider the limitations of the available data and the potential risk associated with the drug when considering the treatment option.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:
The suggestions provided are intended to facilitate clinical decision making and encourage an evidence-based approach to using ketamine in the treatment of psychiatric disorders considering the limited information that is currently available. This article provides information on potentially important issues related to the off-label treatment approach that should be considered to help ensure patient safety.

Sanacora, G., Frye, M. A., McDonald, W., Mathew, S. J., Turner, M. S., Schatzberg, A. F., … & Nemeroff, C. B. (2017). A consensus statement on the use of ketamine in the treatment of mood disorders. Jama psychiatry74(4), 399-405. 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.0080
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Ketamine and Other NMDA Antagonists: Early Clinical Trials and Possible Mechanisms in Depression

Abstract

Objective The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of ketamine and other N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists in the treatment of major depression.

Method Searches of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and other databases were conducted for placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trials of NMDA antagonists in the treatment of depression. Primary outcomes were rates of treatment response and transient remission of symptoms. Secondary outcomes included change in depression symptom severity and the frequency and severity of dissociative and psychotomimetic effects. Results for each NMDA antagonist were combined in meta-analyses, reporting odds ratios for dichotomous outcomes and standardized mean differences for continuous outcomes.

Results Ketamine (seven trials encompassing 147 ketamine-treated participants) produced a rapid, yet transient, antidepressant effect, with odds ratios for response and transient remission of symptoms at 24 hours equaling 9.87 (4.37–22.29) and 14.47 (2.67–78.49), respectively, accompanied by brief psychotomimetic and dissociative effects. Ketamine augmentation of ECT (five trials encompassing 89 ketamine-treated participants) significantly reduced depressive symptoms following an initial treatment (Hedges’ g=0.933) but not at the conclusion of the ECT course. Other NMDA antagonists failed to consistently demonstrate efficacy; however, two partial agonists at the NMDA coagonist site, d-cycloserine and rapastinel, significantly reduced depressive symptoms without psychotomimetic or dissociative effects.

Conclusions The antidepressant efficacy of ketamine, and perhaps D-cycloserine and rapastinel, holds promise for future glutamate-modulating strategies; however, the ineffectiveness of other NMDA antagonists suggests that any forthcoming advances will depend on improving our understanding of ketamine’s mechanism of action. The fleeting nature of ketamine’s therapeutic benefit, coupled with its potential for abuse and neurotoxicity, suggest that its use in the clinical setting warrants caution.

Newport, D. J., Carpenter, L. L., McDonald, W. M., Potash, J. B., Tohen, M., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2015). Ketamine and Other NMDA Antagonists: Early Clinical Trials and Possible Mechanisms in Depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172(10), 950-966. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15040465

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