Acute Dissociation and Ketamine's Antidepressant and Anti-Suicidal Ideation Effects in a Midazolam-Controlled Trial.

In a randomized, midazolam-controlled trial of 40 suicidal, depressed participants given intravenous ketamine, acute dissociative and psychotomimetic effects were not associated with changes in suicidal ideation or depressive symptoms from before to after infusion. Norketamine showed a trend-level, moderate inverse correlation with dissociative symptoms on Day 1 post-injection, suggesting dissociation may be more an effect of the parent drug. Dehydronorketamine correlated with dissociative symptoms at multiple time points. No evidence was found that ketamine's acute, transient dissociative or psychotomimetic effects contribute to its antidepressant or anti-suicidal actions.

Study at a glance

Abstract

We sought to explore relationships of acute dissociative effects of intravenous ketamine with change in depression and suicidal ideation and with plasma metabolite levels in a randomized, midazolam-controlled trial. Data from a completed trial in suicidal, depressed participants (n = 40) randomly assigned to ketamine was used to examine relationships between ketamine treatment-emergent dissociative and psychotomimetic symptoms with pre/post-infusion changes in suicidal ideation and depression severity. Nonparametric correlational statistics were used. These methods were also used to explore associations between dissociative or psychotomimetic symptoms and blood levels of ketamine and metabolites in a subset of participants (n = 28) who provided blood samples immediately post-infusion. Neither acute dissociative nor psychotomimetic effects of ketamine were associated with changes in suicidal ideation or depressive symptoms from pre- to post-infusion. Norketamine had a trend-level, moderate inverse correlation with dissociative symptoms on Day 1 post-injection (P = .064; P =.013 removing 1 outlier). Dehydronorketamine correlated with Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale scores at 40 minutes (P = .034), 230 minutes (P = .014), and Day 1 (P = .012). We did not find evidence that ketamine's acute, transient dissociative, or psychotomimetic effects are associated with its antidepressant or anti-suicidal ideation actions. The correlation of higher plasma norketamine with lower dissociative symptoms on Day 1 post-treatment suggests dissociation may be more an effect of the parent drug.