[Animal experiment study on intracranial pressure, after ketamine administration]

The action of ketamine on intracranial pressure in the presence of haemorrhagic shock, at both the dosage levels used for emergency cases and for in-patient treatment, was investigated using an animal model. Haemodynamically stable animals with a normal or raised intracranial pressure served as a control group. All animals were normoventilated. No rise in intracranial pressure was observed with either 0.5 or 2.0 mg/kg body weight of ketamine in those animals with normal, or in those with a raised pressure. This applied to both the haemodynamically stable animals, and to those in haemorrhagic shock. This finding is probably due to the fact that PCO2 levels did not rise under the controlled ventilation.