Oral Ketamine as an Adjuvant to Opioids for Pain Treatment in Cancer Patients

• Status: Unknown status
• Trial end date: 2012-10-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

In the current research the investigators would like to examine the effect of a well acquainted drug, Ketamine, which is used by anesthesiologists to induce sleep in operations. Usually the ketamine is given into the vein and not orally. The investigators want to give it orally to cancer patients that sufffer from severe pain to find out whether it can prove their quality of life, lower their pain and reduce the amount of opioids they receive.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
• Treatments: Analgesics, Opioid; Ketamine

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• 1. Patient suffering from severe cancer pain (VAS>6 at rest or on movement) despite the opioid treatment.

2. Opiate tolerance suspected on the basis of rapid escalation in opiate dose 3. Severe opiate side effects

Exclusion Criteria:

• 1. Recent psychiatric hospitalization, suicide attempt, or history within the preceding month of electroconvulsive therapy 2. History of psychosis, eg, schizophrenia 3. History of recent seizures 4. Uncontrolled intracranial hypertension due to brain metastasis or hydrocephalus 5. Severe labile hypertension or poorly controlled cardiac arrhythmia 6. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with hypercarbia