Continuous Intravenous Sub-Dissociative Dose Ketamine Infusion for Managing Pain in the Emergency Department

Our objective was to describe dosing, duration, and pre- and post-infusion analgesic administration of continuous intravenous sub-dissociative dose ketamine (SDK) infusion for managing a variety of painful conditions in the emergency department (ED).

We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients aged 18 and older presenting to the ED with acute and chronic painful conditions who received continuous SDK infusion in the ED for a period over six years (2010-2016). Primary data analyses included dosing and duration of infusion, rates of pre- and post-infusion analgesic administration, and final diagnoses. Secondary data included pre- and post-infusion pain scores and rates of side effects.

A total of 104 patients were enrolled in the study. Average dosing of SDK infusion was 11.26 mg/hr, and the mean duration of infusion was 135.87 minutes. There was a 38% increase in patients not requiring post-infusion analgesia. The average decrease in pain score was 5.04. There were 12 reported adverse effects, with nausea being the most prevalent.

Continuous intravenous SDK infusion has a role in controlling pain of various etiologies in the ED with a potential to reduce the need for co-analgesics or rescue analgesic administration. There is a need for more robust, prospective, randomized trials that will further evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety of this modality across a wide range of pain syndromes and different age groups in the ED.