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Review
. 2017 Sep 20:6:F1000 Faculty Rev-1711.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.11372.1. eCollection 2017.

Ketamine for pain

Kelly Jonkman  1 , Albert Dahan  1 , Tine van de Donk  1 , Leon Aarts  1 , Marieke Niesters  1 , Monique van Velzen  1
Affiliations
Review

Ketamine for pain

Kelly Jonkman et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

The efficacy of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine as an analgesic agent is still under debate, especially for indications such as chronic pain. To understand the efficacy of ketamine for relief of pain, we performed a literature search for relevant narrative and systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We retrieved 189 unique articles, of which 29 were deemed appropriate for use in this review. Ketamine treatment is most effective for relief of postoperative pain, causing reduced opioid consumption. In contrast, for most other indications (that is, acute pain in the emergency department, prevention of persistent postoperative pain, cancer pain, and chronic non-cancer pain), the efficacy of ketamine is limited. Ketamine's lack of analgesic effect was associated with an increase in side effects, including schizotypical effects.

Keywords: analgesia; ketamine; pain; postoperative pain.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: Research conducted by AD has received support from Eurocept BV, The Netherlands.No competing interests were disclosed.Competing interests: Prof Schug advises iX Biopharma Ltd on the development of a sublingual ketamine wafer; his employer UWA receives consulting fees from iX Biopharma Ltd.

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