Effects of Low-dose Ketamine as an Adjunct to Propofol-based Anesthesia for Electroconvulsive Therapy
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2019-05-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Ketamine has been used successfully as the sole medication for anesthesia in the setting of
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and has more recently been studied as an adjunct agent in
combination with propofol (the most commonly used anesthetic agent) to induce anesthesia for
ECT. New literature postulates an anti-depressant effect of ketamine, which in ECT
specifically may be helpful with regards to the overall goals of therapy (i.e. ECT indicated
for severe or treatment-resistant depression).
Current research focusing on ketamine with respect to its anti-depressant effect suggests it
may even represent an alternative to ECT. This study will seek to determine whether ketamine
when used in low-doses as an adjunct to propofol-based anesthesia for ECT has anti-depressant
effects and whether it influences the characteristics of recovery from anesthesia in the ECT
setting (i.e. vital sign parameters such as blood pressure and heart rate, quality of
recovery, etc.).