Comparison of Rapid Antidepressant and Antisuicidal Effects of Intramuscular Ketamine, Oral Ketamine, and Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology November 1, 2020 Dorna Kheirabadi, Gholam Reza Kheirabadi, Zahra Mirlohi et al. 49 citations
A pilot study randomly assigned 45 adults with major depressive disorder to receive either intramuscular ketamine (0.5 mg/kg), oral ketamine (1 mg/kg), or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) over 3 weeks. Depression and suicidal ideation scores improved significantly in all groups, with no meaningful differences between the three treatments. Ketamine caused brief, transient dissociative symptoms, whereas ECT led to memory loss lasting up to a month in some patients. Patients who received ketamine preferred it over ECT. The authors suggest that oral and intramuscular ketamine may have antidepressant effects equal to ECT, with possibly greater antisuicidal effects, fewer cognitive side effects, and higher patient preference.