Ketamine for Pain Control After Severe Traumatic Injury

Summary

This study evaluates if the early utilization of ketamine infusion therapy among acutely injured adult trauma hospital inpatients with an ISS \>15 will decrease the amount of opioid pain medication used as compared with placebo group. Ketamine infusion therapy initiated within 12 hours of hospital arrival will lead to decreased total opiate consumption (standardized to oral morphine equivalent units) in the first 24 and 48 hours compared to controls.

Timeline

Start

2021-01-20

Primary completion

2025-02-28

Completion

2025-02-28

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper Adjustable dose ketamine failed to reduce OME totals or pain scores in a severely injured trauma cohort when compared with placebo at any time point. PMID 40152587 ↗

Publications

• Trevino CM, Carver T, Tomas C, Larson C, Mantz-Wichman M, Peppard WJ, deRoon-Cassini T. Acute traumatic pain treatment with ketamine decreased PTSD and anxiety symptoms 6 months post hospital discharge. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2026 Feb 1;100(2):215-220. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000004835. Epub 2025 Dec 17.
• Carver TW, Peppard WJ, Gellings JA, Thapa R, Trevino C, Mantz-Wichman M, Peschman JR, Szabo A, Yang Y, Schroeder ME, Milia DJ, Elegbede AF, de Moya MA, de Roon-Cassini TA. Ketamine infusion for pain control in severely injured patients: Results of a randomized controlled trial. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2025 Jun 1;98(6):858-866. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000004602. Epub 2025 Mar 28.
• Bertolini F, Robertson L, Bisson JI, Meader N, Churchill R, Ostuzzi G, Stein DJ, Williams T, Barbui C. Early pharmacological interventions for prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals experiencing acute traumatic stress symptoms. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024 May 20;5(5):CD013613. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013613.pub2.
• Bertolini F, Robertson L, Bisson JI, Meader N, Churchill R, Ostuzzi G, Stein DJ, Williams T, Barbui C. Early pharmacological interventions for universal prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 Feb 10;2(2):CD013443. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013443.pub2.

Drugs

Indications