Ketamine Can Act as a Wonder Drug in ER: Researchers

Ketamine can be a life-saving wonder drug in emergency rooms, researchers say.

According to researchers at the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, ketamine isn't used in ER as often as it should be because physicians believe that the drug increases intracranial pressure. The latest research, however, has shown that ketamine can be used as a painkiller, sedative and an amnesia-inducing agent in people brought into emergency treatments.

The team said that ketamine is better that etomidate, which is currently used as an anesthetic agent in ER.

"Apprehension for many years about ketamine's effects on blood pressure or injured brains inhibited its use for intubation, especially in North America compared to Europe, but our review shows those concerns are likely overblown," said lead study author Corinne Hohl, MD, of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, Canada.  "In view of recent concerns about the potential negative effects of an alternative induction agent, etomidate, ketamine should be considered routinely in patients with life-threatening infections and more regularly for patients who have been 'found down,' or unconscious, before being transported to the ER."

The study is published in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Ketamine is a white, crystalline powder or clear liquid developed in the year 1962. It was initially marketed as a general anesthetic.

The drug hit the streets in the 1970's and by early 1980's several people across the U.S. began using it. People using the drug in higher doses, have reported out-of-body experience. Dizziness, muscle twitches and slurred speech are other symptoms associated with using the drug. Recent studies have even showed that under controlled settings, ketamine can be used to treat depression in people who have stopped responding to other drugs.

Studies looking at ketamine's sedative properties have found no difference in intracranial and cerebral pressures in patients who were given ketamine and those who were given sufentanil, fentanyl and other pharmacological agents.

Also, ketamine-use wasn't associated with neurological damage or early death risk in ER patients.

"Given the potential benefit to emergency patients and their physicians, the debate on ketamine should be settled by a large, randomized controlled trial," said Dr. Hohl in a news release. "In the meantime, our review suggests what many emergency physicians already believe is true: Ketamine is safe and incredibly useful in critically ill patients who require rapid intubation."