The Antidepressant Effect of Ketamine Is Dampened by Concomitant Benzodiazepine Medication
Frontiers in Psychiatry August 28, 2020 Veronika Andrashko, Tomáš Novák, Martin Brunovský et al. 46 citations
Concomitant benzodiazepine treatment at higher doses may attenuate the rapid antidepressant effect of a single ketamine infusion. In 47 patients with major depression who received 0.54 mg/kg ketamine as an add-on to ongoing antidepressants, 28% achieved at least a 50% reduction in depression severity within one week. Patients taking more than 8 mg of diazepam equivalent daily showed a significantly worse response on days 3 and 7 compared to those taking lower doses or none. Nonresponders had significantly higher benzodiazepine doses. The findings suggest that higher benzodiazepine doses interfere with ketamine's efficacy, with implications for clinical protocols and future research.