Intravenous ketamine infusion for a patient with treatment-resistant major depression: a 10-month follow-up

Ketamine in a subanaesthetic dose has been shown to produce rapid antidepressant effects. Here, we describe a long-term follow-up case of a Korean patient with severe major depression who received repeated ketamine intravenous therapy (KIT).

A 49-year-old woman with a 6-year history of treatment-resistant major depression was given KIT once every 1 or 2 weeks over 10 months, for a total of 36 treatments. Her mood stabilized, and she showed a nearly 50% reduction in the severity of her depressive symptom.

Long-term repeated KIT may be an option for alleviating treatment-resistant and relapsing major depression. Further research and large clinical trials are needed on the optimum KIT protocol, including dose, dosing interval, total number of treatments and when to stop.