Ketamine does not increase intracranial pressure compared with opioids: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Ketamine for Critically Ill Patients with Severe Acute Brain Injury: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

BACKGROUND

Patients with severe acute brain injury have a high risk of a poor clinical outcome due to primary and secondary brain injury. Ketamine reportedly inhibits cortical spreading depolarization, an electrophysiological phenomenon that has been associated with secondary brain injury, making ketamine potentially attractive for patients with severe acute brain injury. The aim of this systematic review is to explore the current literature regarding ketamine for patients with severe acute brain injury.

METHODS

We systematically searched international databases for randomized clinical trials comparing ketamine by any regimen versus placebo, no intervention, or any control drug for patients with severe acute brain injury. Two authors independently reviewed and selected trials for inclusion, extracted data, assessed risk of bias, and performed analysis using Review Manager and Trial Sequential Analysis. Evidence certainty was assessed using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation. The primary outcomes were the proportion of participants with an unfavorable functional outcome, the proportion of participants with one or more serious adverse events, and quality of life.

RESULTS

We identified five randomized trials comparing ketamine versus sufentanil, fentanyl, other sedatives, or saline (total N = 149 participants). All outcomes were at overall high risk of bias. The proportions of participants with one or more serious adverse events did not differ between ketamine and sufentanil or fentanyl (relative risk 1.45, 95% confidence interval 0.81-2.58; very low certainty). Trial sequential analysis showed that further trials are needed.

CONCLUSIONS

The level of evidence regarding the effects of ketamine on functional outcome and serious adverse events in patients with severe acute brain injury is very low. Ketamine may markedly, modestly, or not at all affect these outcomes. Large randomized clinical trials at low risk of bias are needed.

Ketamine is not associated with more post-intubation hypotension than etomidate in patients undergoing endotracheal intubation

INTRODUCTION

Emergency department (ED) patients undergoing emergent tracheal intubation often have multiple physiologic derangements putting them at risk for post-intubation hypotension. Prior work has shown that post-intubation hypotension is independently associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The choice of induction agent may be associated with post-intubation hypotension. Etomidate and ketamine are two of the most commonly used agents in the ED, however, there is controversy regarding whether either agent is superior in the setting of hemodynamic instability. The goal of this study is to determine whether there is a difference in the rate of post-intubation hypotension who received either ketamine or etomidate for induction. Additionally, we provide a subgroup analysis of patients at pre-existing risk of cardiovascular collapse (identified by pre-intubation shock index (SI) > 0.9) to determine if differences in rates of post-intubation hypotension exist as a function of sedative choice administered during tracheal intubation in these high-risk patients. We hypothesize that there is no difference in the incidence of post-intubation hypotension in patients who receive ketamine versus etomidate.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted on a database of 469 patients having undergone emergent intubation with either etomidate or ketamine induction at a large academic health system. Patients were identified by automatic query of the electronic health records from 1/1/2016-6/30/2019. Exclusion criteria were patients <18-years-old, tracheal intubation performed outside of the ED, incomplete peri-intubation vital signs, or cardiac arrest prior to intubation. Patients at high risk for hemodynamic collapse in the post-intubation period were identified by a pre-intubation SI > 0.9. The primary outcome was the incidence of post-intubation hypotension (systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg or mean arterial pressure < 65 mmHg). Secondary outcomes included post-intubation vasopressor use and mortality. These analyses were performed on the full cohort and an exploratory analysis in patients with SI > 0.9. We also report adjusted odds ratios (aOR) from a multivariable logistic regression model of the entire cohort controlling for plausible confounding variables to determine independent factors associated with post-intubation hypotension.

RESULTS

A total of 358 patients were included (etomidate: 272; ketamine: 86). The mean pre-intubation SI was higher in the group that received ketamine than etomidate, (0.97 vs. 0.83, difference: -0.14 (95%, CI -0.2 to -0.1). The incidence of post-intubation hypotension was greater in the ketamine group prior to SI stratification (difference: -10%, 95% CI -20.9% to -0.1%). Emergency physicians were more likely to use ketamine in patients with SI > 0.9. In our multivariate logistic regression analysis, choice of induction agent was not associated with post-intubation hypotension (aOR 1.45, 95% CI 0.79 to 2.65). We found that pre-intubation shock index was the strongest predictor of post-intubation hypotension.

CONCLUSION

In our cohort of patients undergoing emergent tracheal intubation, ketamine was used more often for patients with an elevated shock index. We did not identify an association between the incidence of post-intubation hypotension and induction agent between ketamine and etomidate. Patients with an elevated shock index were at higher risk of cardiovascular collapse regardless of the choice of ketamine or etomidate.

Co-administration of Ketamine in Pediatric Patients with Neurologic Conditions at Risk for Intracranial Hypertension

BACKGROUND

Ketamine has traditionally been avoided as an induction agent for tracheal intubation in patients with neurologic conditions at risk for intracranial hypertension due to conflicting data in the literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of ketamine versus other medications as the primary induction agent on peri-intubation neurologic, hemodynamic and respiratory associated events in pediatric patients with neurologic conditions at risk for intracranial hypertension.

METHODS

This retrospective observational study enrolled patients < 18 years of age at risk for intracranial hypertension who were admitted to a quaternary children's hospital between 2015 and 2020. Associated events included neurologic, hemodynamic and respiratory outcomes comparing primary induction agents of ketamine versus non-ketamine for tracheal intubation.

RESULTS

Of 143 children, 70 received ketamine as the primary induction agent prior to tracheal intubation. Subsequently after tracheal intubation, all the patients received adjunct analgesic and sedative medications (fentanyl, midazolam, and/or propofol) at doses that were inadequate to induce general anesthesia but would keep them comfortable for further diagnostic workup. There were no significant differences between associated neurologic events in the ketamine versus non-ketamine groups (p = 0.42). This included obtaining an emergent computed tomography scan (p = 0.28), an emergent trip to the operating room within 5 h of tracheal intubation (p = 0.6), and the need for hypertonic saline administration within 15 min of induction drug administration for tracheal intubation (p = 0.51). There were two patients who had clinical and imaging evidence of herniation, which was not more adversely affected by ketamine compared with other medications (p = 0.49). Of the 143 patients, 23 had pre-intubation and post-intubation intracranial pressure values recorded; 11 received ketamine, and 3 of these patients had intracranial hypertension that resolved or improved, whereas the remaining 8 children had intracranial pressure within the normal range that was not exacerbated by ketamine. There were no significant differences in overall associated hemodynamic or respiratory events during tracheal intubation and no 24-h mortality in either group.

CONCLUSIONS

The administration of ketamine as the primary induction agent prior to tracheal intubation in combination with other agents after tracheal intubation in children at risk for intracranial hypertension was not associated with an increased risk of peri-intubation associated neurologic, hemodynamic or respiratory events compared with those who received other induction agents.

Effect of Anesthetics on Functional Connectivity of Developing Brain

The potential anesthetic neurotoxicity on the neonate is an important focus of research investigation in the field of pediatric anesthesiology. It is essential to understand how these anesthetics may affect the development and growth of neonatal immature and vulnerable brains. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has suggested that using anesthetics result in reduced functional connectivity may consider as core sequence for the neurotoxicity and neurodegenerative changes in the developed brain. Anesthetics either directly impact the primary structures and functions of the brain or indirectly alter the hemodynamic parameters that contribute to cerebral blood flow (CBF) in neonatal patients. We hypothesis that anesthetic agents may either decrease the brain functional connectivity in neonatal patients or animals, which was observed by fMRI. This review will summarize the effect and mechanism of anesthesia on the rapid growth and development infant and neonate brain with fMRI through functional connectivity. It is possible to provide the new mechanism of neuronal injury induced by anesthetics and objective imaging evidence in animal developing brain.

Is Prehospital Ketamine Associated With a Change in the Prognosis of PTSD?

INTRODUCTION

Ketamine is an alternative to opioids for prehospital analgesia following serious combat injury. Limited research has examined prehospital ketamine use, associated injuries including traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD outcomes following serious combat injury.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We randomly selected 398 U.S. service members from the Expeditionary Medical Encounter Database who sustained serious combat injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2010-2013. Of these 398 patients, 213 individuals had charted prehospital medications. Clinicians reviewed casualty records to identify injuries and all medications administered. Outcomes were PTSD diagnoses during the first year and during the first 2 years postinjury extracted from military health databases. We compared PTSD outcomes for patients treated with either (a) prehospital ketamine (with or without opioids) or (b) prehospital opioids (without ketamine).

RESULTS

Fewer patients received prehospital ketamine (26%, 56 of 213) than only prehospital opioids (69%, 146 of 213) (5%, 11 of 213 received neither ketamine nor opioids). The ketamine group averaged significantly more moderate-to-serious injuries, particularly lower limb amputations and open wounds, compared with the opioid group (Ps < .05). Multivariable regressions showed a significant interaction between prehospital ketamine (versus opioids) and TBI on first-year PTSD (P = .027). In subsequent comparisons, the prehospital ketamine group had significantly lower odds of first-year PTSD (OR = 0.08, 95% CI [0.01, 0.71], P = .023) versus prehospital opioids only among patients who did not sustain TBI. We also report results from separate analyses of PTSD outcomes among patients treated with different prehospital opioids only (without ketamine), either morphine or fentanyl.

CONCLUSIONS

The present results showed that patients treated with prehospital ketamine had significantly lower odds of PTSD during the first year postinjury only among patients who did not sustain TBI. These findings can inform combat casualty care guidelines for use of prehospital ketamine and opioid analgesics following serious combat injury.

[History of Ketamine: An ancient molecule that is still popular today]

The history of ketamine begins in 1962, when Calvin Stevens of the pharmaceutical laboratory Parke-Davis synthesizes it from phencyclidine, a molecule with psychodysleptic, hallucinogenic and dissociative properties. Following the first administration of ketamine to humans in 1964 in Jackson prison (Michigan, USA), its dissociative effects associated with short anaesthesia were reported, and a patent for its human use was filed in 1966. In the 1990s, the discovery of opioid-induced hyperalgesia sparked interest in ketamine as an analgesic. In recent years, the human use of ketamine, and in particular its esketamine enantiomer, has shifted towards the treatment of depression. The first cases of ketamine abuse were reported in 1992 in France, leading to special surveillance by the health authorities, and its inclusion in the list of narcotic drugs in 1997. Today, ketamine has become an attractive substance for recreational use, gradually emerging from alternative techno circles to spread to more commercial party scenes. These elements represent a public health concern, associated with the risk of developing new chemically synthesized analogues, the harmful effects of which are still little known.

Ketamine in acute phase of severe traumatic brain injury "an old drug for new uses?"

Maintaining an adequate level of sedation and analgesia plays a key role in the management of traumatic brain injury (TBI). To date, it is unclear which drug or combination of drugs is most effective in achieving these goals. Ketamine is an agent with attractive pharmacological and pharmacokinetics characteristics. Current evidence shows that ketamine does not increase and may instead decrease intracranial pressure, and its safety profile makes it a reliable tool in the prehospital environment. In this point of view, we discuss different aspects of the use of ketamine in the acute phase of TBI, with its potential benefits and pitfalls.

Escalate and De-Escalate Therapies for Intracranial Pressure Control in Traumatic Brain Injury

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is frequently associated with an elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP), followed by cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) reduction. Invasive monitoring of ICP is recommended to guide a step-by-step “staircase approach” which aims to normalize ICP values and reduce the risks of secondary damage. However, if such monitoring is not available clinical examination and radiological criteria should be used. A major concern is how to taper the therapies employed for ICP control. The aim of this manuscript is to review the criteria for escalating and withdrawing therapies in TBI patients. Each step of the staircase approach carries a risk of adverse effects related to the duration of treatment. Tapering of barbiturates should start once ICP control has been achieved for at least 24 h, although a period of 2–12 days is often required. Administration of hyperosmolar fluids should be avoided if ICP is normal. Sedation should be reduced after at least 24 h of controlled ICP to allow neurological examination. Removal of invasive ICP monitoring is suggested after 72 h of normal ICP. For patients who have undergone surgical decompression, cranioplasty represents the final step, and an earlier cranioplasty (15–90 days after decompression) seems to reduce the rate of infection, seizures, and hydrocephalus.

Ketamine Administration in Prehospital Combat Injured Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury: A 10-Year Report of Survival

Background The Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) guidelines recommend ketamine as the primary battlefield analgesic in the setting of moderate-to-severe pain and hemodynamic compromise. However, despite recent studies failing to support the association between ketamine and worse outcomes in head trauma, TCCC guidelines state that ketamine may worsen severe traumatic brain injury. We compared mortality outcomes following head trauma sustained in a combat setting between ketamine recipients and non-recipients. Methods This is a secondary analysis of previously published data in the Department of Defense Trauma Registry from January 2007 to August 2016. We isolated patients with an abbreviated injury scale of 3 or greater for the head body region. We compared mortality between prehospital ketamine recipients and non-recipients. Results Our initial search yielded 28,222 patients, of which 4,183 met the inclusion criteria: 209 were ketamine-recipients and 3,974 were non-recipients. The ketamine group had a higher percentage injured by explosives (59.81% vs. 53.57%, p<0.001) and gunshot wounds (28.71% vs. 22.07%, p<0.001) and were more frequently located in Afghanistan (100% vs. 68.0%, p<0.001). The ketamine group had higher rates of tourniquet application (24.4% vs. 8.5%, p<0.001) and had lower survival proportion (75.1% alive vs. 83.0%, p=0.003). All differences were significant. On univariable analysis, the ketamine group had worse odds of survival with (OR: 0.62; 95%CI: 0.45-0.86). When controlling for the presence of an airway intervention and mechanism of injury, the finding was non-significant (OR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.76-1.55). Conclusions In our prehospital combat study, after controlling for confounders, we found no association between administration of prehospital ketamine and worse survival outcomes for casualties with head injuries. However, despite the lack of difference in overall survival noted, those who received ketamine and died had a higher risk ratio for time to death.

Prehospital Use of Ketamine in the Combat Setting: A Sub-Analysis of Patients With Head Injuries Evaluated in the Prospective Life Saving Intervention Study

Objectives

Ketamine is used as an analgesic for combat injuries. Ketamine may worsen brain injury, but new studies suggest neuroprotection. Our objective was to report the outcomes of combat casualties with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who received prehospital ketamine.

Methods

This was a post hoc, sub-analysis of a larger prospective, multicenter study (the Life Saving Intervention study [LSI]) evaluating prehospital interventions performed in Afghanistan. A DoD Trauma Registry query provided disposition at discharge and outcomes to be linked with the LSI data.

Results

For this study, we enrolled casualties that were suspected to have TBI (n = 160). Most were 26-year-old males (98%) with explosion-related injuries (66%), a median injury severity score of 12, and 5% mortality. Fifty-seven percent (n = 91) received an analgesic, 29% (n = 46) ketamine, 28% (n = 45) other analgesic (OA), and 43% (n = 69) no analgesic (NA). The ketamine group had more pelvic injuries (P = 0.0302) and tourniquets (P = 0.0041) compared to OA. In comparison to NA, the ketamine group was more severely injured and more likely to require LSI procedures, yet, had similar vital signs at admission and disposition at discharge.

Conclusions

We found that combat casualties with suspected TBI that received prehospital ketamine had similar outcomes to those that received OAs or NAs despite injury differences.

[Ketamine in the therapy of chronic pain and depression]

Although ketamine has been known and clinically applied for a long time, questions still arise around the many possible indications in which the anesthetic and analgesic substance could be used. In particular, these questions relate to new indications in which ketamine is used in low subanesthetic doses.The mechanism of action at the NMDA receptor clearly distinguishes ketamine from all other analgesics. Possible applications include the prevention of chronic postoperative pain as well as the treatment of neuropathic pain. With the treatment of refractory depression completely new therapeutic areas for ketamine could be established.

Effects of anesthesia on cerebral blood flow, metabolism, and neuroprotection

Administration of anesthetic agents fundamentally shifts the responsibility for maintenance of homeostasis from the patient and their intrinsic physiological regulatory mechanisms to the anesthesiologist. Continuous delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain is necessary to prevent irreversible injury and arises from a complex series of regulatory mechanisms that ensure uninterrupted cerebral blood flow. Our understanding of these regulatory mechanisms and the effects of anesthetics on them has been driven by the tireless work of pioneers in the field. It is of paramount importance that the anesthesiologist shares this understanding. Herein, we will review the physiological determinants of cerebral blood flow and how delivery of anesthesia impacts these processes.

Novel drugs and early polypharmacotherapy in status epilepticus

PURPOSE

Rescue medications for status epilepticus (SE) have a relatively high rate of failure. The purpose of this review is to summarize the evidence for the efficacy of novel drugs and early polypharmacotherapy for SE.

METHOD

Literature review.

RESULTS

New drugs and treatment strategies aim to target the pathophysiology of SE in order to improve seizure control and outcomes. Changes at the synapse level during SE include a progressive decrease in synaptic GABA_A receptors and increase in synaptic NMDA receptors. These changes tend to promote self-sustaining seizures. Current SE guidelines recommend a rapid stepwise treatment using benzodiazepines in monotherapy as the first-line treatment, targeting GABA_A synaptic receptors. Novel treatment approaches target GABA_A synaptic and extrasynaptic receptors with allopregnanolone, and NMDA receptors with ketamine. Novel rescue treatments used for SE include topiramate, brivaracetam, and perampanel, which are already marketed in epilepsy. Some available drugs not marketed for use in epilepsy have been used in the treatment of SE, and other agents are being studied for this purpose. Early polytherapy, most frequently combining a benzodiazepine with a second-line drug or an NMDA receptor antagonist, might potentially increase seizure control with relatively minor increase in side effects. Although many preclinical studies support novel drugs and early polytherapy in SE, human studies are scarce and inconclusive. Currently, evidence is lacking to recommend specific combinations of these new agents.

CONCLUSIONS

Novel drugs and strategies target the underlying pathophysiology of SE with the intent to improve seizure control and outcomes.

The currency, completeness and quality of systematic reviews of acute management of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury: A comprehensive evidence map

OBJECTIVE

To appraise the currency, completeness and quality of evidence from systematic reviews (SRs) of acute management of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

METHODS

We conducted comprehensive searches to March 2016 for published, English-language SRs and RCTs of acute management of moderate to severe TBI. Systematic reviews and RCTs were grouped under 12 broad intervention categories. For each review, we mapped the included and non-included RCTs, noting the reasons why RCTs were omitted. An SR was judged as 'current' when it included the most recently published RCT we found on their topic, and 'complete' when it included every RCT we found that met its inclusion criteria, taking account of when the review was conducted. Quality was assessed using the AMSTAR checklist (trichotomised into low, moderate and high quality).

FINDINGS

We included 85 SRs and 213 RCTs examining the effectiveness of treatments for acute management of moderate to severe TBI. The most frequently reviewed interventions were hypothermia (n = 17, 14.2%), hypertonic saline and/or mannitol (n = 9, 7.5%) and surgery (n = 8, 6.7%). Of the 80 single-intervention SRs, approximately half (n = 44, 55%) were judged as current and two-thirds (n = 52, 65.0%) as complete. When considering only the most recently published review on each intervention (n = 25), currency increased to 72.0% (n = 18). Less than half of the 85 SRs were judged as high quality (n = 38, 44.7%), and nearly 20% were low quality (n = 16, 18.8%). Only 16 (20.0%) of the single-intervention reviews (and none of the five multi-intervention reviews) were judged as current, complete and high-quality. These included reviews of red blood cell transfusion, hypothermia, management guided by intracranial pressure, pharmacological agents (various) and prehospital intubation. Over three-quarters (n = 167, 78.4%) of the 213 RCTs were included in one or more SR. Of the remainder, 17 (8.0%) RCTs post-dated or were out of scope of existing SRs, and 29 (13.6%) were on interventions that have not been assessed in SRs.

CONCLUSION

A substantial number of SRs in acute management of moderate to severe TBI lack currency, completeness and quality. We have identified both potential evidence gaps and also substantial research waste. Novel review methods, such as Living Systematic Reviews, may ameliorate these shortcomings and enhance utility and reliability of the evidence underpinning clinical care.

State of the art analgesia-Recent developments pharmacological approaches to acute pain management in dogs and cats: Part 2

There has been considerable interest in the area of acute pain management over recent years, focusing on pain assessment, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. The evidence base for our clinical decision making and treatment of patients is ever increasing and becoming more robust. There is still a tendency to base some aspects of pain management on poor quality evidence and this requires further input in years to come. With new literature come new ideas and this review will detail the current knowledge base behind pharmacological management of acute pain in dogs and cats. The known mechanisms of action of each analgesic and its evidence will be considered. The second part of this review will consider the non-traditional analgesics, describing their component drugs individually, thereby focusing on their mechanisms of action and the current evidence for their use in acute pain management.

Battlefield Analgesia in Tactical Combat Casualty Care

At the start of the Afghanistan conflict, battlefield analgesia for US military casualties was achieved primarily through the use of intramuscular (IM) morphine. This is a suboptimal choice, since IM morphine is slow-acting, leading to delays in effective pain relief and the risk of overdose and death when dosing is repeated in order to hasten the onset of analgesia. Advances in battlefield analgesia, pioneered initially by Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), and the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, have now been incorporated into the Triple-Option Analgesia approach. This novel strategy has gained wide acceptance in the US military. It calls for battlefield analgesia to be achieved using 1 or more of 3 options depending on the casualty's status: 1) the meloxicam and acetaminophen in the combat wound medication pack (CWMP) for casualties with relatively minor pain that are still able to function effectively as combatants if their sensorium is not altered by analgesic medications; 2) oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate (OTFC) for casualties who have moderate to severe pain, but who are not in hemorrhagic shock or respiratory distress, and are not at significant risk for developing either condition; or 3) ketamine for casualties who have moderate to severe pain, but who are in hemorrhagic shock or respiratory distress or are at significant risk for developing either condition. Ketamine may also be used to increase analgesic effect for casualties who have previously been given opioid medication. The present paper outlines the evolution and evidence base for battlefield analgesia as currently recommended by TCCC. It is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all prehospital analgesic options.

First Rescue Under the Rubble: The Medical Aid in the First Hours After the Earthquake in Amatrice (Italy) on August 24, 2016

a. Event Type: Earthquake measuring 6.2 (SD=0.016) on the moment magnitude;

b. Event Onset: August 24, 2016 - 03:36:32 CEST (01:36 UTC);

c. Location of Event: Central Italy, in the town of Amatrice;

d. Geographic Coordinates: latitude (DMS): 42°37′45.77″N; longitude (DMS): 13°17′18.14″E; elevation: 955 meters above sea-level;

e. Dates: August 24, 2016 at 4:48 AM;

f. Response Type: Medical Relief.

Abstract

On August 24, 2016, an earthquake hit the town of Amatrice (Italy). This study aims to document the first medical aid provided to earthquake victims in Amatrice immediately following the earthquake.

Patient data were collected and recorded during the first clinical evaluation and before definitive hospitalization. Blood gas tests were performed on survivors extricated from the rubble using the iSTAT (Abbott Point of Care Inc.; Princeton, New Jersey USA) handheld blood analyzer.

Performing “victim-side” blood gas tests could provide concrete information to facilitate clinical evaluation and decision making when treating buried victims. After a natural disaster, it is essential to provide effective analgo-sedation to victims.

BlasettiAG, PetrucciE, CofiniV, PizziB, ScimiaP, PozoneT, NecozioneS, FuscoP, MarinangeliF. First rescue under the rubble: the medical aid in the first hours after the earthquake in Amatrice (Italy) on August 24, 2016. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(1):109–113.

Sedation and analgesia for procedures in the pediatric emergency room

OBJECTIVE

Children and adolescents often require sedation and analgesia in emergency situations. With the emergence of new therapeutic options, the obsolescence of others, and recent discoveries regarding already known drugs, it became necessary to review the literature in this area.

DATA SOURCES

Non-systematic review in the PubMed database of studies published up to December 2016, including original articles, review articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. References from textbooks, publications from regulatory agencies, and articles cited in reviews and meta-analyses through active search were also included.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Based on current literature, the concepts of sedation and analgesia, the necessary care with the patient before, during, and after sedoanalgesia, and indications related to the appropriate choice of drugs according to the procedure to be performed and their safety profiles are presented.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of sedoanalgesia protocols in procedures in the pediatric emergency room should guide the professional in the choice of medication, the appropriate material, and in the evaluation of discharge criteria, thus assuring quality in care.

Collective Review of the Status of Rapid Sequence Intubation Drugs of Choice in Trauma in Low- and Middle-Income Settings (Prehospital, Emergency Department and Operating Room Setting)

INTRODUCTION

Establishing a definitive airway in order to ensure adequate ventilation and oxygenation is an important aspect of resuscitation of the polytrauma patient .

AIM

To review the relevant literature that compares the different drugs used for rapid sequence intubation (RSI) of trauma patients, specifically reviewing: premedication, induction agents and neuromuscular blocking agents across the prehospital, emergency department and operating room setting, and to present the best practices based on the reviewed evidence.

METHOD

A literature review of rapid sequence intubation in the trauma population was carried out, specifically comparison of the drugs used (induction agent, neuromuscular blocking drugs and adjuncts).

DISCUSSION

Studies involving the comparison of drugs used in RSI in, specifically, the trauma patient are sparse. The majority of studies have compared induction agents, etomidate, ketamine and propofol, as well as the neuromuscular blocking agents, succinylcholine and rocuronium.

CONCLUSION

There currently exists great variation in the practice of RSI; however, in trauma the RSI armamentarium is limited to agents that maintain hemodynamic stability, provide adequate intubating conditions in the shortest time period and do not have detrimental effects on cerebral perfusion pressure. Further, multicenter randomized controlled studies to confirm the benefits of the currently used agents in trauma are required.

Ketamine-A Narrative Review of Its Uses in Medicine

One of the most fascinating drugs in the anesthesiologist's armament is ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist with a myriad of uses. The drug is a dissociative anesthetic and has been used more often as an analgesic in numerous hospital units, outpatient pain clinics, and in the prehospital realm. It has been used to treat postoperative pain, chronic pain, complex regional pain syndrome, phantom limb pain, and other neuropathic conditions requiring analgesia. Research has also demonstrated its efficacy as an adjunct in psychotherapy, as a treatment for both depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, as a procedural sedative, and as a treatment for respiratory and neurologic conditions. Ketamine is not without its adverse effects, some of which can be mitigated with certain efforts. Such effects make it necessary for the clinician to use the drug only in situations where it will provide the greatest benefit with the fewest adverse effects. To the best of our knowledge, none of the reviews regarding ketamine have taken a comprehensive look at the drug's uses in all territories of medicine. This review will serve to touch on its chemical data, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, medical uses, and adverse effects while focusing specifically on the drugs usage in anesthesia and analgesia.

Ketamine: 50 Years of Modulating the Mind

Ketamine was introduced into clinical practice in the 1960s and continues to be both clinically useful and scientifically fascinating. With considerably diverse molecular targets and neurophysiological properties, ketamine’s effects on the central nervous system remain incompletely understood. Investigators have leveraged the unique characteristics of ketamine to explore the invariant, fundamental mechanisms of anesthetic action. Emerging evidence indicates that ketamine-mediated anesthesia may occur via disruption of corticocortical information transfer in a frontal-to-parietal (“top down”) distribution. This proposed mechanism of general anesthesia has since been demonstrated with anesthetics in other pharmacological classes as well. Ketamine remains invaluable to the fields of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, in large part due to its ability to maintain cardiorespiratory stability while providing effective sedation and analgesia. Furthermore, there may be an emerging role for ketamine in treatment of refractory depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In this article, we review the history of ketamine, its pharmacology, putative mechanisms of action and current clinical applications.

Ketamine-mediated afferent-specific presynaptic transmission blocks in low-threshold and sex-specific subpopulation of myelinated Ah-type baroreceptor neurons of rats

Background

Ketamine enhances autonomic activity, and unmyelinated C-type baroreceptor afferents are more susceptible to be blocked by ketamine than myelinated A-types. However, the presynaptic transmission block in low-threshold and sex-specific myelinated Ah-type baroreceptor neurons (BRNs) is not elucidated.

Methods

Action potentials (APs) and excitatory post-synaptic currents (EPSCs) were investigated in BRNs/barosensitive neurons identified by conduction velocity (CV), capsaicin-conjugated with Iberiotoxin-sensitivity and fluorescent dye using intact nodose slice and brainstem slice in adult female rats. The expression of mRNA and targeted protein for NMDAR1 was also evaluated.

Results

Ketamine time-dependently blocked afferent CV in Ah-types in nodose slice with significant changes in AP discharge. The concentration-dependent inhibition of ketamine on AP discharge profiles were also assessed and observed using isolated Ah-type BRNs with dramatic reduction in neuroexcitability. In brainstem slice, the 2^nd-order capsaicin-resistant EPSCs were identified and ∼50% of them were blocked by ketamine concentration-dependently with IC₅₀ estimated at 84.4 μM compared with the rest (708.2 μM). Interestingly, the peak, decay time constant, and area under curve of EPSCs were significantly enhanced by 100 nM iberiotoxin in ketamine-more sensitive myelinated NTS neurons (most likely Ah-types), rather than ketamine-less sensitive ones (A-types).

Conclusions

These data have demonstrated, for the first time, that low-threshold and sex-specific myelinated Ah-type BRNs in nodose and Ah-type barosensitive neurons in NTS are more susceptible to ketamine and may play crucial roles in not only mean blood pressure regulation but also buffering dynamic changes in pressure, as well as the ketamine-mediated cardiovascular dysfunction through sexual-dimorphic baroreflex afferent pathway.

Pain management in critically ill patients: a review of multimodal treatment options

Pain management for critically ill patients provides physicians with the challenge of maximizing patient comfort while avoiding the risks that arise with oversedation. Preventing oversedation has become increasingly important as we better understand the negative impact it has on patients' experiences and outcomes. Current research suggests that oversedation can result in complications such as thromboembolism, pulmonary compromise, immunosuppression and delirium. Fortunately, the analgesic options available for physicians to limit these complications are growing as more treatment modalities are being researched and implemented in the intensive care unit. Our goal is to outline some of the effective and widely utilized tools available to physicians to appropriately and safely manage pain while avoiding oversedation in the critically ill population.

The Future of Intensive Care Unit Sedation: A Report of Continuous Infusion Ketamine as an Alternative Sedative Agent

This report describes a patient case utilizing a nontraditional sedative, continuous infusion ketamine, as an alternative agent for intensive care unit (ICU) sedation. A 27-year-old female presented for neurosurgical management of a coup contrecoup injury, left temporal fracture, epidural hemorrhage (EDH), and temporal contusion leading to sustained mechanical ventilation. The patient experienced profound agitation during mechanical ventilation and developed adverse effects with all traditional sedatives: benzodiazepines, dexmedetomidine, opioids, and propofol. Ketamine was titrated to effect and eliminated the need for other agents. This led to successful ventilator weaning, extubation, and transition of care. Given the unique side effect profile of ketamine, it is imperative that information is disseminated on potential utilization of this agent. More information is needed regarding dosing, monitoring, and long-term effects of utilizing ketamine as a continuous ICU sedative, but given the analgesia, anesthesia, and cardiopulmonary stability, future utilization of this medication for this indication seems promising.

Evidence and consensus based guideline for the management of delirium, analgesia, and sedation in intensive care medicine. Revision 2015 (DAS-Guideline 2015) - short version

In 2010, under the guidance of the DGAI (German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine) and DIVI (German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine), twelve German medical societies published the “Evidence- and Consensus-based Guidelines on the Management of Analgesia, Sedation and Delirium in Intensive Care”. Since then, several new studies and publications have considerably increased the body of evidence, including the new recommendations from the American College of Critical Care Medicine (ACCM) in conjunction with Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) from 2013. For this update, a major restructuring and extension of the guidelines were needed in order to cover new aspects of treatment, such as sleep and anxiety management. The literature was systematically searched and evaluated using the criteria of the Oxford Center of Evidence Based Medicine. The body of evidence used to formulate these recommendations was reviewed and approved by representatives of 17 national societies. Three grades of recommendation were used as follows: Grade “A” (strong recommendation), Grade “B” (recommendation) and Grade “0” (open recommendation). The result is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, evidence and consensus-based set of level 3 guidelines. This publication was designed for all ICU professionals, and takes into account all critically ill patient populations. It represents a guide to symptom-oriented prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of delirium, anxiety, stress, and protocol-based analgesia, sedation, and sleep-management in intensive care medicine.