Ketamine Infusion in Neurologic Deficit

Summary

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) or bleeding in the brain as a result of ruptured aneurysm is a devastating type of stroke. Many patients who undergo emergent neurosurgery to repair the aneurysm and remove the bleeding suffer from complications in their subsequent hospital stay, the most frequent and morbid of which is delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) or small strokes resulting from impaired blood flow to certain vital brain centers. This occurs because of changes to the brain's blood vessels that occur after the bleed. The arteries can become narrow (spasm) or small clots can form within the vasculature that disrupts normal blood flow. Patients are left with profound neurologic deficits from these secondary complications. Anesthesiologists, neurosurgeons, and intensivists are in need of a way to protect the brain during this vulnerable period following aneurysm repair. One drug that may provide such protection is ketamine, a compound frequently used in operating rooms and intensive care units to provide anesthesia and analgesia. Ketamine works by blocking glutamate receptor ion channels that play a pivotal role in promoting brain cell death during strokes by flooding the brain with too much calcium and dangerous chemicals. This project is designed to test the efficacy of ketamine in protecting the brain following aneurysm repair by using a controlled infusion of the drug in the intensive care unit (ICU) when patients return from their operation.

Timeline

Start

2016-01-26

Primary completion

2021-03-31

Completion

2023-11-15

Publications

• Background Etminan N, Vergouwen MD, Ilodigwe D, Macdonald RL. Effect of pharmaceutical treatment on vasospasm, delayed cerebral ischemia, and clinical outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2011 Jun;31(6):1443-51. doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.2011.7. Epub 2011 Feb 2.
• Background Nilsson OG, Saveland H, Boris-Moller F, Brandt L, Wieloch T. Increased levels of glutamate in patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage as measured by intracerebral microdialysis. Acta Neurochir Suppl. 1996;67:45-7. doi: 10.1007/978-3-7091-6894-3_10.
• Background Beal MF. Mechanisms of excitotoxicity in neurologic diseases. FASEB J. 1992 Dec;6(15):3338-44.
• Background Forder JP, Tymianski M. Postsynaptic mechanisms of excitotoxicity: Involvement of postsynaptic density proteins, radicals, and oxidant molecules. Neuroscience. 2009 Jan 12;158(1):293-300. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.10.021. Epub 2008 Nov 1.

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