ReviewBioMed research international2015
Role of ketamine in acute postoperative pain management: a narrative review.
Review in BioMed research international, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 47 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Cardiovascular and Neuropsychiatric Side Effects in Ketamine Analgesic Infusions in Acute Pain
The Effect of Intraoperative Lidocaine Infusion and Intraoperative Lidocaine Combined With Ketamine Infusion on Opioid Consumption After Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Prospective Single-Blinded Randomized Study of Ketamine/Midazolam Sedation vs. Fentanyl/Midazolam Sedation for Image-Guided Percutaneous Procedures in Interventional Radiology
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of Intraoperative Ketamine on Postoperative Analgesic Requirement Following Bariatric Surgery: a Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Obesity surgery · 2021Pooled it
- The Effects of Low-Dose Ketamine on Acute Pain in an Emergency Setting: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.PloS one · 2016Pooled it
- The efficacy of different modes of analgesia in postoperative pain management and early mobilization in postoperative cardiac surgical patients: A systematic review.Annals of cardiac anaesthesiaPooled it
- Esketamine-led opioid-free anaesthesia reduces postoperative pulmonary complications in bariatric surgery patients: a prospective randomized controlled trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Trial
- Esketamine combined with hydromorphone versus hydromorphone for post-operative patient-controlled intravenous analgesia in children: a randomized controlled trial.European journal of medical research · 2026Trial
- A pre-anesthetic bolus of ketamine versus dexmedetomidine for prevention of postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing emergency surgery: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study.BMC anesthesiology · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Intraoperative ketamine for prevention of postoperative delirium or pain after major surgery in older adults: an international, multicentre, double-blind, randomised clinical trial.Lancet (London, England) · 2017Trial
- Effect of Intravenous Ethanol on Capsaicin-Induced Hyperalgesia in Human Subjects.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2016Trial
- The effect of ketamine on preventing postpartum depression.Journal of medicine and lifeTrial
- Role of perioperative ketamine on the incidence of rebound pain after regional nerve block in the adult surgical population: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Indian journal of anaesthesia · 2026Article
- Paravertebral Block and Perioperative Ketamine in an Opioid-Sparing Analgesia Approach in Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery: A Retrospective Single-Centre Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Ketamine as part of multi-modal analgesia may reduce opioid requirements following cardiac surgery: a retrospective observational cohort study.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2025Observational
- Use of bupivacaine liposomal injectable suspension in children aged 2 to 6 years undergoing cardiac surgery does not accelerate recovery.JTCVS open · 2025Article
- Risk Factors and Pain Management in the Incidence of Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients: A Retrospective Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- The role of ketamine and its enantiomer in managing depression and pain in cancer patients: A narrative review.Journal of anesthesia and translational medicine · 2024Article
- Efficacy and safety of ketamine wound infiltration for postoperative pain management: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and trial sequential analysis.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Review
- Quantium Consciousness Index and Quantium Noxious Index in Ketamine Subdose Administration Compared with Fentanyl and Midazolam in Postoperative ICU Patients: A Prospective, Observational Study.Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2024Article
- Narrative Review: Low-Dose Ketamine for Pain Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Implementation of a standardized multimodal pain regimen significantly reduces postoperative inpatient opioid utilization in patients undergoing bariatric surgery.Surgical endoscopy · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe objective of this narrative review was to examine the usage of ketamine as a postoperative analgesic agent across a wide variety of surgeries.
designA literature search was performed using the phrases "ketamine" and "postoperative pain." The authors analyzed the studies that involved testing ketamine's effectiveness at controlling postoperative pain. Effectiveness was assessed through various outcomes such as the amount of opiate consumption, visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, and persistent postoperative pain at long-term follow-up.
resultsWhile many different administration protocols were evaluated, delivering ketamine both as a pre- or perioperative bolus and postoperative infusion for up to 48 hours appeared to be the most effective. These effects are dose-dependent. However, a number of studies analyzed showed no benefit in using ketamine versus placebo for controlling postoperative pain. While ketamine is a safe and well-tolerated drug, it does have adverse effects, and there are concerns for possible neurotoxicity and effects on memory.
conclusionsIn a number of limited situations, ketamine has shown some efficacy in controlling postoperative pain and decreasing opioid consumption. More randomized controlled trials are necessary to determine the surgical procedures and administrations (i.e., intravenous, epidural) that ketamine is best suited for.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.