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Evidence summaries

Perioperative Ketamine for Acute Postoperative Pain

Ketamine in subanaesthetic dose is effective in reducing morphine requirements in the first 24 hours after surgery and reduces postoperative nausea and vomiting. Level of evidence: "A"

A Cochrane review 1 [Abstract] [withdrawn from publication] included 37 studies with a total of 2 240 subjects. Twenty-seven of the trials found that perioperative subanaesthetic doses of ketamine reduced rescue analgesic requirements or pain intensity, or both. Quantitative analysis showed that treatment with ketamine reduced 24 hour PCA morphine consumption and postoperative nausea or vomiting (PONV). Adverse effects were mild or absent.

    References

    • Bell RF, Dahl JB, Moore RA et al. WITHDRAWN: Perioperative ketamine for acute postoperative pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015;(7):CD004603. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords