• Kelly Jonkman, Albert Dahan, Tine van de Donk, Leon Aarts, Marieke Niesters, and Monique van Velzen.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Anesthesia & Pain Research Unit, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
• F1000Res. 2017 Jan 1; 6.

AbstractThe efficacy of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine as an analgesic agent is still under debate, especially for indications such as chronic pain. To understand the efficacy of ketamine for relief of pain, we performed a literature search for relevant narrative and systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We retrieved 189 unique articles, of which 29 were deemed appropriate for use in this review. Ketamine treatment is most effective for relief of postoperative pain, causing reduced opioid consumption. In contrast, for most other indications (that is, acute pain in the emergency department, prevention of persistent postoperative pain, cancer pain, and chronic non-cancer pain), the efficacy of ketamine is limited. Ketamine's lack of analgesic effect was associated with an increase in side effects, including schizotypical effects.

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