Ketamine Anesthesia in Electroconvulsive Therapy

Does the use of ketamine as the anesthetic medication in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) accelerate the antidepressant effect of ECT?

The study hypothesis was that depressed subjects receiving ECT with ketamine as the anesthetic agent would demonstrate a faster rate of improvement, defined as lower depression ratings after the second ECT than depressed patients receiving ECT with the usual anesthetic agent.

Topic Depression
Compound Placebo Ketamine
Country United States of America
Visit trial
Status Completed
Results Published
Start date 05 January 2011
End date 03 January 2021
Chance of happening 100%
Phase Not Applicable
Design Blinded
Type Interventional
Generation First
Participants 38
Sex All
Age 18- 99
Therapy No

Trial Details

There are several drugs available to induce anesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a psychiatric treatment for major depressive illness. The most commonly utilized of these include methohexital, thiopental, etomidate, and propofol. Recently, there has been interest in the use of ketamine in sub-anesthetic doses to treat major depressive illness. In this randomized, blinded trial, depressed subjects scheduled to be treated with ECT were anesthetized with either ketamine or methohexital at doses of approximately 1.0 mg/kg for each drug. Patients received the same drug for up to six of their ECT treatments. Outcome measures included assessments of depressive severity, cognition, post-anesthesia side effects, and hemodynamics. Subjects were to be followed with as long as they were receiving inpatient ECT treatments. The number of treatments was determined entirely by their primary psychiatric team, also blind to anesthetic, as per usual care. In other words, this study did not determine when to terminate the ECT course.

NCT Number NCT01367119

Sponsors & Collaborators

Mayo Clinic
This company doesn't have a full profile yet, it is linked to a clinical trial.

Measures Used

Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a frequently used self-rating scale developed to assess psychological distress in non-psychiatric patients.

Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression
The PHQ-9 is the module of the Patient Health Questionnaire focusing on major depressive disorder (MDD). It is a 3-page questionnaire that can be entirely self-administered by the patient, after which it is checked by a medical professional. The PHQ-9 consists of 9 items. If 5 or more criteria have been met, the patient is diagnosed with depression.

Data attribution

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