Acute effects of esketamine on hypoxic ventilatory response, haemodynamics, and brain function in healthy volunteers.
British journal of anaesthesia February 1, 2025 Simone C Jansen, Monique van Velzen, Elise Sarton et al. 11 citations
Intravenous esketamine up to a total dose of 1 mg per kg does not impair the ventilatory response to hypoxia in healthy adults. In an open-label study of 18 subjects, esketamine increased resting ventilation by about 3.1 L per minute and raised mean arterial pressure by 10 mm Hg and heart rate by 10 beats per minute, but it did not alter the increase in breathing triggered by acute or sustained low oxygen. The drug also increased anxiety and alertness and altered external perception, which may contribute to the sustained hypoxic ventilatory response observed during infusion. These findings indicate that low-dose esketamine is safe with respect to the hypoxic chemoreflex but has cardiovascular and psychoactive effects.