Sublingual Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Depression: Embracing the Change
BJPsych Open June 1, 2025 Ranjini Rao
A prospective review of 60 patients receiving off-label sublingual ketamine for depression found that nearly half of those with moderate to severe depression showed improvement on clinician-rated scales after four weeks of treatment, with the improvement rate rising to 60% among those who completed a recommended 12-dose course. A moderately strong correlation between dissociation during treatment and reduction in depressive symptoms was not statistically significant. No patients dropped out or were hospitalized. Minor side effects such as nausea and dizziness were self-limited. The authors suggest that additional treatments might maintain improvement.