Abstract
Background
Ketamine has recently become an agent of interest as an acute treatment for severe depression and as the anaesthetic for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Subanaesthetic doses result in an acute reduction in depression severity while evidence is equivocal for this antidepressant effect with anaesthetic or adjuvant doses. Recent systematic reviews call for high-quality evidence from further randomised controlled trials (RCTs).
Aims
To establish if ketamine as the anaesthetic for ECT results in fewer ECT treatments, improvements in depression severity ratings and less memory impairment than the standard anaesthetic.
Method
Double-blind, parallel-design, RCT of intravenous ketamine (up to 2 mg/kg) with an active comparator, intravenous propofol (up to 2.5 mg/kg), as the anaesthetic for ECT in patients receiving ECT for major depression on an informal basis. (Trial registration: European Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT): 2011-000396-14 and clinicalTrials.gov: NCT01306760.)
Results
No significant differences were found on any outcome measure during, at the end of or 1 month following the ECT course.
Conclusions
Ketamine as an anaesthetic does not enhance the efficacy of ECT.
Ketamine has recently become an agent of interest as an acute treatment for severe depression and as the anaesthetic for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Subanaesthetic doses result in an acute reduction in depression severity while evidence is equivocal for this antidepressant effect with anaesthetic or adjuvant doses. Recent systematic reviews call for high-quality evidence from further randomised controlled trials (RCTs).
Aims
To establish if ketamine as the anaesthetic for ECT results in fewer ECT treatments, improvements in depression severity ratings and less memory impairment than the standard anaesthetic.
Method
Double-blind, parallel-design, RCT of intravenous ketamine (up to 2 mg/kg) with an active comparator, intravenous propofol (up to 2.5 mg/kg), as the anaesthetic for ECT in patients receiving ECT for major depression on an informal basis. (Trial registration: European Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT): 2011-000396-14 and clinicalTrials.gov: NCT01306760.)
Results
No significant differences were found on any outcome measure during, at the end of or 1 month following the ECT course.
Conclusions
Ketamine as an anaesthetic does not enhance the efficacy of ECT.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-7 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | British Journal of Psychiatry |
| Volume | 210 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 2 Mar 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2017 |
Bibliographical note
C.AS. reports grants from Vifor Pharma, outside the submitted work. I.C.R. (deceased) declared personal fees from AstraZeneca, Sanofi Aventis and Sunovion, and non-financial support from Lundbeck, between 2009 and 2014 and all outside the submitted work.Volume 212, Issue 5 May 2018 , p. 323
Ketamine as the anaesthetic for electroconvulsive therapy: the KANECT randomised controlled trial – CORRIGENDUM
Gordon Fernie, James Currie, Jennifer S. Perrin, Caroline A. Stewart...
https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2018.76 Published online: 06 April 2018
Summary: This notice describes a correction to the above mentioned paper.