Esketamine-Induced Dissociation: A Case Report.
Journal of psychoactive drugs – November 10, 2024
Source: PubMed
Summary
A promising depression medication, esketamine, offers hope for those who don't respond to traditional treatments. While highly effective for treatment-resistant depression, this case highlights an important side effect: a patient experienced temporary but intense dissociation during therapy. Despite this adverse effect, she showed significant improvement in her depression symptoms, demonstrating esketamine's potential benefits when properly monitored.
Abstract
Esketamine, the isolated S-enantiomer of ketamine, has been a recent breakthrough as a non-monoaminergic treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This case report explores a rare adverse event in a 41-year-old female with TRD, who, despite experiencing significant depressive improvement with esketamine, encountered a severe dissociative episode accompanied by hallucinogenic-like phenomena. While esketamine's efficacy in TRD is well-documented, this pronounced dissociation should be taken into consideration by researchers and clinicians before prescribing. As esketamine continues to aid TRD treatment, comprehension of its safety profile becomes essential for informed decision-making, ensuring optimized patient care in the vast development of antidepressant therapies.