Ketamine Anesthesia in Electroconvulsive Therapy

Brief Summary

Does the use of ketamine as the anesthetic medication in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) accelerate the antidepressant effect of ECT?

The study hypothesis was that depressed subjects receiving ECT with ketamine as the anesthetic agent would demonstrate a faster rate of improvement, defined as lower depression ratings after the second ECT than depressed patients receiving ECT with the usual anesthetic agent.

Intervention / Treatment

  • Drug: Ketamine
  • Drug: Methohexital

Condition or Disease

  • Depression

Phase

Study Design

Study type: Interventional
Status: Completed
Study results: Has Results
Age: 18 Years and older   (Adult, Older Adult)
Enrollment: 38 ()
Funded by: Other

Masking

Clinical Trial Dates

Start date: May 11, 2020
Primary Completion: Mar 12, 2020
Completion Date: Mar 12, 2020
Study First Posted: Jun 06, 2011
Results First Posted: Aug 06, 2013
Last Updated: Aug 08, 2013

Sponsors / Collaborators

Lead Sponsor: N/A
Responsible Party: N/A

There are several drugs available to induce anesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a psychiatric treatment for major depressive illness. The most commonly utilized of these include methohexital, thiopental, etomidate, and propofol. Recently, there has been interest in the use of ketamine in sub-anesthetic doses to treat major depressive illness.

In this randomized, blinded trial, depressed subjects scheduled to be treated with ECT were anesthetized with either ketamine or methohexital at doses of approximately 1.0 mg/kg for each drug. Patients received the same drug for up to six of their ECT treatments. Outcome measures included assessments of depressive severity, cognition, post-anesthesia side effects, and hemodynamics.

Subjects were to be followed with as long as they were receiving inpatient ECT treatments. The number of treatments was determined entirely by their primary psychiatric team, also blind to anesthetic, as per usual care. In other words, this study did not determine when to terminate the ECT course.

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All
Minimum Age: 18

More Details

NCT Number: NCT01367119
Other IDs: 11-001430
Study URL: https://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01367119
Last updated: Jun 17, 2022