Use of Ketamine in Patients with Multifactorial Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Alejandro Bruna-Mejias, Vicente Baeza, Javiera Gamboa, Belen Baez Flores, Jessica San Martin, Constanza Astorga, Javiera Leyton, Pablo Nova-Baeza, Mathias Orellana-Donoso, Alejandra Suazo-Santibañez, Alvaro Becerra-Farfán, Gustavo Oyanedel-Amaro, Juan Jose Valenzuela-Fuenzalida
Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) September 3, 2024 DOI: 10.3390/ph17091165 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA systematic review examined evidence for low doses of ketamine in treating neuropathic pain, a condition marked by burning, stabbing sensations, and heightened sensitivity. The review, which searched multiple databases, found that low-dose ketamine did not produce statistically significant improvements in pain reduction or functionality compared to placebo. Specific measures such as the total symptom score showed a difference, but the neuropathy impairment score and symptom checklist indicated no significant benefit. No specific dosages were identified that support the use of low-dose ketamine for neuropathic pain.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | People with neuropathic pain |
| Intervention | low doses of ketamine |
| Topics | Ketamine |
| Keywords | Pharmacology Chronic pain Neuropathic pain/nerve pain/neuralgia/polyneuropathy Ketamine/ketalar/special k Clinical trials/medical research |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key finding | Low doses of ketamine do not present statistically significant changes in pain reduction or functionality for neuropathic pain compared to placebo. |
Abstract
Neuropathic pain (NP) is a heterogeneous group of conditions characterized by the experience of a number of sensory disturbances including pain, burning sensations, paroxysms of stabbing pain, dysesthesias, allodynia, and hyperalgesia. The above-mentioned sensations may occur in a specific dermatome area or other delimited region of the body. The objective of this review was to analyze the evidence for ketamine in multifactorial neuropathic pain. The research group systematically searched the databases MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, SCOPUS, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (Cinahl), and the Web of Science. The findings of this review show that different forms of low doses of ketamine (LDK) do not present statistically significant changes for any of the scales included. In this study, the total symptom score [standardized mean difference (SMD) = -3.59, confidence interval (CI) = -4.16 to -3.02, and p < 0.00001], neuropathy impairment score (SMD = -1.42, CI = -3.68 to 0.84, and p = 0.22), and neuropathy symptom checklist (SMD = -0.09, CI = -0.15 to -0.02, and p = 0.01) were taken into account. For finality compared to the use of a placebo, the findings suggest that LDK does not exhibit significant differences in terms of pain reduction and functionality. Moreover, no specific dosages are identified to support the use of LDK in the reduction in NP.