A 33-year-old woman with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa (body mass index 13, the lowest documented in the literature) and comorbid major depressive disorder, who had not improved with antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, electroconvulsive therapy, or multiple therapies, received seven sessions of intravenous ketamine combined with acceptance and commitment therapy in a hospital setting. She showed increased cognitive flexibility, disappearance of suicidal ideation, and reduction in Beck Depression Inventory scores. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy may be a promising treatment for patients with anorexia nervosa and co-morbid depression who have not responded to other interventions.
A 33-year-old woman with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa and major depressive disorder, who had not improved with numerous prior treatments including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, electroconvulsive therapy, and various therapies, received seven sessions of intravenous ketamine combined with acceptance and commitment therapy in a hospital setting. She showed increased cognitive flexibility, disappearance of suicidal ideation, and reduction in Beck Depression Inventory scores. Her body mass index was profoundly low at 13, whereas the lowest previously documented in the literature was 16.9. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy may be a promising treatment for patients with anorexia nervosa and comorbid depression who have failed other interventions.