Ketamine Infusion for Comorbid PTSD and Chronic Pain

To date, treatment options (i.e. psychotherapy, antidepressant medications) for patients with PTSD, are relatively few, and considering their limited efficacy, novel therapies have gained interest among researchers and treatment providers alike. Among patients with chronic pain about one third suffer from comorbid PTSD, which further complicates their already challenging pharmacological regimens. Low dose ketamine infusion has shown promise in PTSD, and in treatment of chronic pain, however they have not been studied in comorbid population and under rigorous control conditions. The investigators compared the effects of a single dose of either ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) or ketorolac (15 mg) over a 40-minute of IV infusion in chronic pain patients with and without PTSD, in double blind, randomized study. Measures were collected before, during, 1 day and 7 days after the infusion.