Ketamine is a drug used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia, usually in combination with a sedative. Ketamine as an analgesic has proven to be of some effect in patients with severe pain who have failed to respond to other routinely applied pharmacotherapy. In patients with intractable pain, the use of oral ketamine can be beneficial. From this perspective, oral ketamine may be used with precautions as add-on therapy when other therapeutic options have failed. However, the routine use of ketamine in cancer pain management is still insufficiently studied. After reviewing research which uses ketamine in the management of cancer pain; further RCTs are needed to include all types of cancer to gain more knowledge about the benefits/adverse effects of using ketamine to manage cancer pain. As for recommendation for practice, we recommend the use of Palliative Care Guidelines and to take into consideration the importance of using ketamine and observing any possible side effect that may occur during or after treatment.
Peer review refers to the work done during the screening of submitted manuscripts and funding applications. This process encourages authors to meet the accepted standards of their discipline and reduces the dissemination of irrelevant findings, unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations, and personal views. Publications that have not undergone peer review are likely to be regarded with suspicion by academic scholars and professionals
Last date updated on September, 2024
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