Intravenous Ketamine Infusion for Major Depressive Disorder: A Case Series Analysis

Abstract There has been a 50% increase in the incidence of depression in the last three decades across the globe. The current antidepressants take at least 2 weeks to show improvement. Thus, there is a need for new treatment strategies that facilitate the rapid action of drugs. From 2000, ketamine is used for the treatment of depression, which has shown rapid improvement. Here, we describe ten patients who were diagnosed with severe depression; they were treated with single infusion of ketamine at 0.5 mg/kg body weight over 40 min as an add-on treatment to the antidepressants. Eight patients reported over 50% improvement in depressive symptoms. One patient experienced mild transient adverse reaction. There was a short-term improvement in depression following single-dose ketamine infusion, emphasizing a need for further research regarding the same. This case series emphasizes the need to look beyond monoamine neurotransmission for the treatment of depression.