Doctors use ketamine to induce general anesthesia alone or with other general anesthetics, such as nitrous oxide. They use it in the emergency department setting to produce short-term sedation whenTrusted Source:
- reducing fractures
- treating joint dislocations
- repairing wounds in uncooperative individuals, such as children
Treating pain
Practitioners use low doses that do not produce dissociation to relieve severe pain from the followingTrusted Source conditions:
- trauma
- fractures
- abdominal pain
- arm or leg pain
- low back pain
Treating status epilepticus
Status epilepticus is when a person has a seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes or has more than one seizure within 5 minutes.
Refractory status epilepticus (RSE) is a form of status epilepticus that does not respond to standard antiseizure drugs. It is a severe disease that can cause brain damage and death.
Treating depression
Research has found that ketamine can quickly relieve depression in people who do not respond well to other treatment.
Treating anxiety
Research into the use of ketamine for anxiety is scarce, but there is evidence that it has fast-acting, anxiety-relieving effects. A 2022 review noted that studies use such varied protocols for treating anxiety with ketamine that it is difficult to draw clear conclusions about its effects.
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