Repeated ketamine injections in synergy with antidepressants for treating refractory depression: A case showing 6-month improvement
Li, Z., Su, B., Wang, L., Wang, M., Xiong, Z., Yang, Y.
This case study (2019) explores repeated intravenous (IV) ketamine in synergy with antidepressants to treat refractory depression (TRD). It found that high-dose IV ketamine may stably enhance depressive symptoms and cognitive function in patients with TRD who do not tend to respond to a rapid intravenous dose of standard-dose ketamine.
Abstract
What is known and objective: Some patients with refractory depression who fail to respond to rapid injection of standard-dose ketamine are injected with high doses, but the safety and efficacy of this practice are unclear.Case description: A 57-year-old woman with refractory depression whose symptoms did not improve after 20-seconds intravenous injection of 0.5 mg/kg ketamine went into remission following eight, 1-minute intravenous injections of 1 mg/kg ketamine delivered over a 4-week period. By 6-month follow-up, no significant adverse events had occurred and cognitive function had improved.What is new and conclusion: High-dose intravenous injections of ketamine may stably improve depressive symptoms and cognitive function in patients with refractory depression who do not respond to rapid intravenous injection of standard-dose ketamine. The high-dose treatment appears to be associated with only mild side effects.