The Potential of Ketamine for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Review of Clinical Evidence

Authors

Anya Ragnhildstveit
Jeremy Roscoe
Lisa C Bass
Christopher L Averill
Chadi G Abdallah
Lynnette A Averill

Language

English

Publication Date

1-1-2023

Journal

Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology

DOI

10.1177/20451253231154125

PMID

36895431

PMCID

PMC9989422

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

3-6-2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a devastating condition, for which there are few pharmacological agents, often with a delayed onset of action and poor efficacy. Trauma-focused psychotherapies are further limited by few trained providers and low patient engagement. This frequently results in disease chronicity as well as psychiatric and medical comorbidity, with considerable negative impact on quality of life. As such, off-label interventions are commonly used for PTSD, particularly in chronic refractory cases. Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NDMA) receptor antagonist, has recently been indicated for major depression, exhibiting rapid and robust antidepressant effects. It also shows transdiagnostic potential for an array of psychiatric disorders. Here, we synthesize clinical evidence on ketamine in PTSD, spanning case reports, chart reviews, open-label studies, and randomized trials. Overall, there is high heterogeneity in clinical presentation and pharmacological approach, yet encouraging signals of therapeutic safety, efficacy, and durability. Avenues for future research are discussed.

Keywords

clinical evidence, esketamine, ketamine, pharmacotherapy, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), rapid-acting antidepressant (RAAD), treatment

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Ragnhildstveit, Anya; Roscoe, Jeremy; Bass, Lisa C; et al., "The Potential of Ketamine for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Review of Clinical Evidence" (2023). Staff and Researcher Publications. 9.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/clinic_pub/9