High-Frequency Analysis of the Cerebral Physiological Impact of Ketamine in Acute Traumatic Neural Injury.
Neurotrauma reports January 1, 2025 Davis McClarty, Logan Froese, Tobias Bergmann et al. 1 citation
Ketamine does not significantly impair cerebral pressure-flow dynamics in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), challenging historical concerns that it might raise intracranial pressure (ICP). A retrospective study of 122 patients (17 who received ketamine, 105 who did not) found higher median ICP in the ketamine group (14.00 mmHg vs. 9.05 mmHg), but this difference likely reflects greater injury severity rather than a drug effect. No other measures of cerebral physiology—including cerebral perfusion pressure, oxygen delivery, intracranial compliance, or cardiovascular reactivity—differed between groups or changed with incremental ketamine doses. Ketamine remains a viable sedative option for TBI.