Effect of esketamine on postoperative depression in women with breast cancer and preoperative depressive symptoms: The EASE randomized trial.
Journal of clinical anesthesia April 1, 2025 Qingfeng Wei, Mengmeng Li, Qiuling Du et al. 10 citations
A single dose of 0.25 mg/kg esketamine given during breast cancer surgery did not significantly increase the proportion of women who achieved a 50% reduction in depression scores within three days after surgery. Among 104 women with preoperative depressive symptoms, 27% in the esketamine group reached this threshold versus 13% in the placebo group, a difference that was not statistically significant. However, esketamine did produce significantly lower depression scores on postoperative days one through five, with a mean additional decrease of 2.5 points on the Montgomery-Åsberg scale compared to placebo. No significant effects were seen on anxiety, pain, or adverse events.