Authors' recommendations: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)Current evidence has consistently shown that IV ketamine may improve symptoms scored by the MADRS and HAM-D scoring tools at 24 hours in patients with MDD. However, identifying which patients are most likely to respond and the duration of response remains unknown.Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)There remains a paucity of good quality evidence to fully support IV ketamine in patients experiencing PTSD as only one randomized controlled trial (RCT) was identified. This is a new area for the use of a NMDA receptor antagonist and while current evidence is optimistic, more evidence with validated outcomes is required to ascertain the clinical effectiveness of IV ketamine in PTSD. Suicidal IdeationCurrent evidence suggests that IV ketamine may be a benefit for components of depression scoring tools related to suicidal ideation, however identifying which patients would benefit is difficult. More trials of higher quality that investigate hard outcomes such as suicide attempts and using patients at risk of imminent suicide are required to determine clinical effectiveness of IV ketamine in suicidal ideation.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2014

URL for published report: http://www.cadth.ca/media/pdf/htis/dec-2014/RC0572%20IV%20Ketamine%20Report%20final.pdf

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Canada

Organisation Name: Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health

Contact Address: 600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553; Fax: +1 613 226 5392;

Contact Name: requests@cadth.ca

Contact Email: requests@cadth.ca

Copyright: Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)