Racemic Ketamine as an Alternative to Electroconvulsive Therapy for Unipolar Depression: A Randomized, Open-Label, Non-Inferiority Trial (KetECT)
International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology December 4, 2021 Joakim Ekstrand, Christian Fattah, Marcus Persson et al. 112 citations
For severely depressed inpatients aged 18–85, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) led to remission in 63% of patients, while ketamine infusions led to remission in 46%, a statistically significant difference. Both treatments required a median of six sessions to achieve remission. ECT caused more serious and long-lasting side effects, including persisting amnesia, whereas ketamine caused more treatment-emergent adverse events leading to dropouts. Among those who remitted, about two-thirds in each group relapsed within 12 months, with no significant difference between treatments. Ketamine, though less effective than ECT, appears to be a safe and useful option for treating unipolar depression.