ArticleJournal of clinical psychopharmacology2017
Oral Ketamine in Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Clinical Effectiveness Case Series.
Article in Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ketamine-induced altered states of consciousness: a systematic review of implications for therapeutic outcomes in psychiatric practices.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of single and repeated administration of ketamine in unipolar and bipolar depression: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2020Pooled it
- Safety and Tolerability of Ketamine Use in Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression Patients with Regard to Central Nervous System Symptomatology: Literature Review and Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2020Pooled it
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 1 study to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of an immediate-release oral ketamine capsule in healthy volunteers.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025Trial
- Change in Negative Affective Bias following a Single Ketamine Treatment for Treatment-Resistant Depression.Depression and anxiety · 2023Trial
- Low dose oral ketamine treatment in chronic suicidality: An open-label pilot study.Translational psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Psychoactive and Neurobiological Effects of Ketamine in Humans: A Scoping Review of Clinical Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Efficacy of Oral Ketamine in Patients with Depression and Suicidality: A Retrospective Study.Indian journal of psychological medicine · 2026Article
- A Novel Tertiary Carbamate Prodrug Strategy to Overcome Metabolic Barriers in Oral Ketamine Delivery.ChemMedChem · 2026Article
- Oral ketamine may offer a solution to the ketamine conundrum.Psychopharmacology · 2023Review
- Non-parenteral Ketamine for Depression: A Practical Discussion on Addiction Potential and Recommendations for Judicious Prescribing.CNS drugs · 2022Article
- Sex-specific neurobiological actions of prophylactic (R,S)-ketamine, (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine, and (2S,6S)-hydroxynorketamine.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2020Article
- Next-Step Treatment Considerations for Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression That Responds to Low-Dose Intravenous Ketamine.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2020Article
- Ketamine: A Review for Clinicians.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness, tolerability, and safety of oral ketamine as an antidepressant treatment in adults with treatment-resistant depression.
methodsWe reviewed retrospective data on 22 patients with treatment-resistant depression, who failed at least 3 adequate antidepressant treatment trials and 1 adequate trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; subsequently, they received open-label treatment with oral ketamine, commenced at a dose of 50 mg every 3 days, titrated up by 25 mg every 3 days, according to response and tolerability. The primary outcome measure was the Beck Depression Inventory II, which was used to rate subjective mood improvement at baseline and then at each follow-up visit. Data about adverse effects related to ketamine and a self-harm risk assessment were also obtained.
findingsOver the course of treatment, 18% of the patients showed greater than 50% reduction in the Beck Depression Inventory II scores, 14% reported partial improvement in mood symptoms, while 45% had no response to ketamine and 23% showed a mild worsening in their depressive symptoms. The most frequent adverse effects were acute dissociation, dizziness, blurred vision, numbness and sedation. Neither serious adverse effects, nor any cases of abuse or dependence were observed.
conclusionsAlthough this case series found oral ketamine to be safe and well tolerated, the findings also showed rather modest effectiveness of oral ketamine in treatment-resistant depression, with only approximately 30% reporting some benefit and approximately 70% reporting no change or worsening of mood. However, bearing in mind the limitations of this small, open-label case series, further exploration of the effectiveness of oral ketamine is warranted.
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.