Use of Ketamine in a Pain Management Protocol for Repetitive Procedures

Ketamine has been the focus of recent attention in the literature for its use as an anesthetic and analgesic agent for pediatric procedures.1-3 Its safety profile and adverse effects have been noted. Although current interest in ketamine has been in its use for painful procedures and much of the original human studies were done on children,4 there are a few reports of repeated ketamine administration to pediatric patients. Some of the reports are for radiotherapy5-7 and brief painful procedures associated with chemotherapy such as lumbar punctures.8-11 One early report documents using ketamine for burn care procedures that were painful, repetitive, and hours in duration.12 This report stressed the use of ketamine … Address correspondence to Daniel A. Rauch, MD, Jacobi Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Room 803H, 1400 Pelham Pkwy South, Bronx, NY 10461.