The impact of perioperative ketamine or esketamine on the subjective quality of recovery after surgery: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
British journal of anaesthesia – June 01, 2024
Source: PubMed
Summary
Ketamine and its variant esketamine show promising results in improving patient recovery after surgery, particularly in the crucial first 48 hours. These medications, when given during anaesthesia, boost overall quality of recovery scores while reducing pain, anxiety, and depression. Analysis of 1,554 patients revealed better emotional well-being and comfort without increasing side effects. The benefits were most pronounced with esketamine, which helped patients feel better sooner and experience less post-surgical discomfort.
Abstract
This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of ketamine/esketamine on postoperative subjective quality of recovery (QoR). MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the impacts of perioperative ketamine/esketamine use and postoperative QoR. The primary outcome was subjective QoR (QoR-9, QoR-15, QoR-40) on postoperative day (POD) 1-3, whereas the secondary outcomes included pain severity, anxiety scores, depression scores, risk of adverse events (i.e. nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness), and length of stay. The analysis included 18 RCTs (1554 participants; ketamine: seven trials, esketamine: 11 trials), of which 15 were conducted in China. Ketamine/esketamine improved the QoR scores on PODs 1 and 2 compared with the control (standardised mean difference [SMD]: 0.63, P<0.0001 for POD 1; SMD: 0.56, P=0.04 for POD 2), without beneficial effect on POD 3. Subgroup analyses revealed significant differences in QoR scores on POD 1 by regimen (SMD: esketamine 1.14, ketamine 0.01) and country (SMD: China 0.82, other countries -0.21). The emotional domain of QoR was improved from PODs 1 to 3, whereas the other domains were only improved on POD 1. Lower postoperative anxiety (SMD: -0.48, P=0.003) and depression (SMD: -0.72, P=0.001) scores were also observed with ketamine/esketamine use. Furthermore, pain severity was reduced on PODs 1 and 2, with no difference in the risk of adverse events or length of stay. This meta-analysis demonstrated that ketamine/esketamine use in the perioperative period is associated with improved early subjective QoR, pain severity, and psychological symptoms without an increase in the likelihood of adverse events. PROSPERO (CRD42023477580).