Michelle Au: About the anesthetic drug ketamine

Michelle Au, Georgia House of Representatives for the 50th District, shared on X/Twitter:

“As some know, in addition to being a member of the GA House of Representatives I’m also a practicing anesthesiologist. There’s some talk today about the anesthetic drug ketamine. In the interest of scuttling medical misinformation, here’s a thread about ketamine and its effects.

Ketamine has been in clinical use since the 1970s, first marketed as a ‘rapidly acting nonbarbiturate general anesthetic.’ Due to its unique pharmacologic properties, it is used today for a wide range of clinical applications including dissociation, sedation and analgesia.

Ketamine is a Schedule III non-narcotic the FDA has approved for use only as a general anesthetic. However doctors sometimes prescribe it for ‘off-label’ uses like depression or PTSD. Off-label means using a med to treat non-FDA approved conditions.

For details click here.

Ketamine stimulates the cardiovascular system leading to an in rate and BP. Unlike opioids it has minimal effects on respiratory drive. It has cataleptic, amnestic, and profound analgesic effect, meaning it may be a good medication during surgery to treat pain.

FAQ #1: ‘Isn’t ketamine used for veterinary medicine?’ Yes, ketamine is a key veterinary anesthetic. But like many types of meds, it is safely used in human patients as well (though likely in a different formulation–do not take veterinary meds prescribed for animals!)

FAQ #2: ‘Don’t people use ketamine recreationally?’ Yes, ketamine can be used as a party drug that produces hallucinations and feelings of dissociation. However, it remains an uncommon recreational drug used by < 1% of people in the U.S.

For details click here.

More recently ketamine has been used for treatment resistant depression.
A prescription version of ketamine called esketamine, a nasal spray, was FDA approved in 2019.

For details click here.

There are some concerns about over-prescription and under-supervised use.”

Source: Michelle Au/X