Chronic Pain

Zhao et al. (2018) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the efficacy of ketamine infusion in treating complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The study found that ketamine infusion can provide clinically effective pain relief in the short term, for less than three months.

 

Corriger et al. (2021) conducted a one-year follow-up study on ketamine for refractory chronic pain and found that significant initial pain relief was observed with just one ketamine infusion, which was maintained for one year. The study identified three distinct pain trajectories, and pain intensity decreased significantly at one year, with greater value observed in mild pain, mostly neuropathic, and less so in severe pain, mostly fibromyalgia.

 

Voute et al. (2021) conducted a Delphi study with experts on ketamine in chronic pain and found that neuropathic pain was the first indication to use ketamine, followed by other situations with good to moderate utility, such as fibromyalgia, CRPS, central neuropathic pain, peripheral neuropathic pain, nociceptive pain, sensitization, opioid withdrawal, palliative care, and depression. The experts agreed on the rare occurrence of adverse events and preferred intravenous infusion for four days of treatment, with quarterly administration of ketamine. They also encouraged the combination with non-pharmacological treatment.

 

In a case report, Garcia et al. (2023) demonstrated that continuous ketamine infusion can effectively treat refractory facial pain in patients with trigeminal neuralgia, leading to significant and sustained pain relief.

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See for more literature on Depression, Anxiety, Substance Abuse, Other Mental Health Conditions, Other Conditions.

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Other useful articles

• Multi-Day Low Dose Ketamine Infusion for the Treatment of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (2005)

• Intravenous Ketamine Infusions for Neuropathic Pain Management: A Promising Therapy in Need of Optimization (2014)

• Considering Ketamine for Treatment of Comorbid Pain, Depression, and Substance Use Disorders (2018)

• Intravenous Ketamine for Cancer Pain Management Including Flares During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study (2021)

• Effectiveness of Escalating Intravenous Infusions of Lignocaine and Ketamine in Reducing Pain, Disability and Depression in Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Prospective Observational Study (2023)