Use of ketamine and esketamine for depression: an overview of systematic reviews with meta-analyses
European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology October 27, 2021 T. Lima, M. B. Visacri, P. M. Aguiar 38 citations
Ketamine and esketamine produce a rapid antidepressant effect, improving clinical response within 40 minutes to 1 week and remission within 80 minutes to 72 hours for ketamine, and 2 hours to 4 weeks for esketamine. Both drugs also reduce depression scale scores and suicidality. Oral ketamine shows no significant change in adverse events compared to control, while intranasal esketamine increases risks of dissociation, dizziness, hypoesthesia, and vertigo. However, most systematic reviews analyzed are of critically low methodological quality, and long-term efficacy and safety data remain lacking, highlighting the need for higher-quality evidence.