Nonanesthetic Effects of Ketamine: A Review Article

Introduction

Eldufani and colleagues frame ketamine not only as a dissociative anaesthetic but as a drug with multiple non‑anaesthetic properties that have attracted clinical interest since its introduction in the 1960s. Earlier research established ketamine's primary pharmacology as antagonism at N‑methyl‑D‑aspartate (NMDA) receptors and recognised its broad pharmacologic profile—sedation, analgesia, bronchodilation, sympathetic stimulation and psychotomimetic effects—but uncertainties remain about mechanisms underlying its non‑anaesthetic uses and the balance of benefits and harms in those indications. This review seeks to synthesise the published literature on ketamine’s non‑anaesthetic effects, focusing on mechanisms and clinical evidence for applications including chronic refractory pain, cognitive function and neuroprotection, depression (including treatment‑resistant depression), acute brain injury, dementia/Alzheimer’s disease and immunomodulation. The study aims to present the potential benefits and risks of ketamine across these domains and to identify gaps needing further research.