Current pain and headache reports
January 14, 2025
Alan D Kaye, Brynne E Tynes, Coplen D Johnson et al.
6 citations
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain condition where pain is much greater than expected from the initial injury and lasts a long time. Many standard treatments have been unsatisfactory. Ketamine, a drug that blocks NMDA receptors and is normally used for anesthesia and pain relief, shows promise for CRPS patients who do not respond to usual therapies. Multiple studies report significant improvements in pain severity, limb mobility, and other measures after ketamine infusion. Side effects such as nausea, vomiting, headache, or psychotropic symptoms were uncommon and reversible by stopping the drug. More research is needed on optimal dosing and duration, but ketamine appears safe and effective for difficult CRPS cases. This review summarizes current knowledge on ketamine infusions for CRPS to help physicians weigh benefits and risks.
Current pain and headache reports
December 15, 2025
Alan D Kaye, Madison C Wolf, Sarah I Dufour et al.
2 citations
Ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, shows promise as an adjunctive treatment for patients with both chronic pain and opioid use disorder. It blocks NMDA receptors, reducing neural excitability and promoting neuroplastic changes that may help manage pain and reduce opioid dependence. Clinical studies suggest ketamine can reduce pain severity, decrease opioid consumption, and alleviate withdrawal symptoms in select populations. However, evidence is limited by small sample sizes, non-standardized protocols, and short follow-up periods. Side effects include dissociative symptoms, sympathomimetic activity, and potential for misuse, requiring careful patient selection and monitoring. Ketamine is a promising option in multimodal care when conventional therapies fail, but further research is needed.
Current pain and headache reports
April 30, 2025
Neveen A Kohaf, Tabia Imtiyaz Khan, Hamada Hamdy Elbana et al.
1 citation
Nebulized ketamine offers a promising alternative for pain management, providing rapid absorption and effective delivery with potentially fewer side effects and better patient compliance due to the smaller volume required for nebulization. A systematic review of nine primary studies indicates that nebulized ketamine is a safe and efficacious treatment for acute pain. However, the evidence is still emerging, and further research is needed to understand its pharmacokinetics, optimal dosing, and efficacy across different populations.
Current pain and headache reports
April 21, 2026
Navy C Coggins, Hanson A Chokr, Tricia A Meyer et al.
Ketamine, originally developed as a dissociative anesthetic, has expanded beyond procedural sedation to pain management and psychiatry. In pain medicine, its therapeutic rationale is grounded in noncompetitive antagonism of the NMDA receptor and modulation of central sensitization, key mechanisms underlying refractory neuropathic and centralized pain states. Evidence from preclinical studies and randomized clinical trials suggests intravenous ketamine may provide short-term analgesic benefit for resistant neuropathic pain, phantom limb pain, and complex regional pain syndrome. Low-dose perioperative administration has demonstrated opioid-sparing effects as part of multimodal analgesia.