What is ketamine?
is ketamine an opioid is used as an anesthetic for surgery, a treatment for depression, and is a drug of abuse. Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic to put you to sleep for surgery and to help prevent pain and discomfort. Ketamine for depression is an off-label use, and its use for depression is currently being researched in clinical trials. It is also a drug of abuse that is used illegally recreationally for its hallucinogenic properties and is known to be a “date rape” drug as it causes short-term memory loss.
Ketamine is not an opioid (narcotic); it is an NMDA receptor antagonist, which means it blocks the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neurotransmitter in the brain.
When used for anesthesia, ketamine is given as an intravenous injection (IV) or as an intramuscular injection (IM).
Ketamine Therapy -is ketamine an opioid
Ketamine infusion therapy has been used for depression in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) for its rapid antidepressant effects. Depression is an off-label use of ketamine as it is not an FDA-approved indication. In clinical trials ketamine therapy is mainly given as intravenous infusion, but may be given as intranasal spray, slow release tablets, sublingual tablets, or other forms.
In clinical trials, ketamine infusions have been given as a single dose once or in multi-dose therapy, as infusions once, twice, or 3 times weekly for 2 weeks during the acute treatment phase. Sometimes infusions have been continued once or twice weekly during the continuation phase for a total of 4–6 weeks of therapy or gradually tapered. In clinical trials ketamine infusion therapy dose is lower than an anesthetic dose. If patients have not responded to several initial infusions, then it appears unlikely that they will respond to further infusions.
Who should not use ketamine?
Ketamine should not be used in patients for whom a significant elevation of blood pressure would constitute a serious hazard or in patients with known hypersensitivity to ketamine or to any excipient.
Emergence reactions Tell your caregivers if you have hallucinations or unusual thoughts while waking up from anesthesia.
Hemodynamic instability Temporary increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac index may be observed during administration. Vital signs and cardiac function should be monitored during administration.
Risk of respiratory depression may occur with overdosage or too rapid a rate of administration. Maintain adequate oxygenation and ventilation
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.