• Aurora J A E van de Loo, Adriana C Bervoets, Loes Mooren, Noor H Bouwmeester, Johan Garssen, Rob Zuiker, Guido van Amerongen, Joop van Gerven, Jaskaran Singh, Peter Van der Ark, Maggie Fedgchin, Randall Morrison, Ewa Wajs, and Joris C Verster.
• Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584CG, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
• Psychopharmacology (Berl.). 2017 Nov 1; 234 (21): 3175-3183.

RationaleThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the single dose effect of intranasal esketamine (84 mg) compared to placebo on on-road driving performance. Mirtazapine (oral, 30 mg) was used as a positive control, as this antidepressant drug is known to negatively affect driving performance.MethodsTwenty-six healthy volunteers aged 21 to 60 years were enrolled in this study. In the evening, 8 h after treatment administration, participants conducted the standardized 100-km on-road driving test. Primary outcome measure was the standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP), i.e., the weaving of the car. Mean lateral position, mean speed, and standard deviation of speed were secondary outcome measures. For SDLP, non-inferiority analyses were conducted, using +2.4 cm (relative to placebo) as a predefined non-inferiority margin for clinical relevant impairment.ResultsTwenty-four participants completed the study. No significant SDLP difference was found between esketamine and placebo (p = 0.7638), whereas the SDLP after mirtazapine was significantly higher when compared to placebo (p = 0.0001). The upper limit of the two-sided 95% confidence interval (CI) of the mean difference between esketamine and placebo was +0.86 cm, i.e., <+2.4 cm, thus demonstrating that esketamine was non-inferior to placebo. Non-inferiority could not be concluded for mirtazapine (+3.15 cm SDLP relative to placebo). No significant differences in mean speed, standard deviation of speed, and mean lateral position were observed between the active treatments and placebo.ConclusionsNo significant difference in driving performance was observed 8 h after administering intranasal esketamine (84 mg) or placebo. In contrast, oral mirtazapine (30 mg) significantly impaired on road driving performance.

36 keywords...

hide…