A longitudinal case series of IM ketamine for patients with severe and enduring eating disorders and comorbid treatment‐resistant depression
Terry Schwartz, Mary Ellen Trunko, David Feifel, Emily Lopez, Danika Peterson, Guido Frank, Walter H. Kaye
Clinical Case Reports April 4, 2021 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1002/ccr3.3869 via OpenAlex
Summary
Four patients with severe and enduring eating disorders and treatment-resistant depression underwent repeat ketamine treatment over more than 12 months. The results indicated an improvement in depression symptoms, while changes in eating disorder symptoms were modest. This suggests that ketamine may be beneficial for managing depression in patients with these complex conditions.
Study at a glance
| Sample size | 4 |
|---|---|
| Population | patients with severe and enduring eating disorders and treatment-resistant depression |
| Key finding | Patients showed improvement in depression symptoms with repeat ketamine treatment, but only modest changes in eating disorder symptoms. |
Abstract
Abstract Severe and enduring eating disorders (EDs) have the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses (Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2011, 68 , 724), especially when comorbid with treatment‐resistant depression (TRD) (Psychiatr Res, 2016, 244 , 45). We report on four patients with enduring EDs and TRD treated with repeat ketamine over 12 + months, showing improvement in depression with only modest changes in ED symptoms.