Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31841104›Full record

ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2019

Esketamine for treatment resistant depression: a trick of smoke and mirrors?

C Gastaldon, D Papola, G Ostuzzi, C Barbui

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. Psychedelics: Future Therapeutics in Major Depression?Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

C GastaldonDepartment of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health and Service Evaluation, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7257-2962
D PapolaDepartment of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health and Service Evaluation, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
G OstuzziDepartment of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health and Service Evaluation, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
C BarbuiDepartment of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health and Service Evaluation, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1073-9282
University of Verona · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In March 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a nasal spray formulation of esketamine for the treatment of resistant depression in adults. Esketamine is the S-enantiomer of ketamine, an FDA-approved anaesthetic, known to cause dissociation and, occasionally, hallucinations. While ketamine has not been approved for depression in the USA or in any other country, it has been used off-label in cases of severe depression. This commentary critically reviewed the evidence on esketamine submitted to the FDA, aiming to draw implications for clinical practice, research and regulatory science.

Indexed as

AdultAntidepressive AgentsDepressionDepressive Disorder, Treatment-ResistantDrug ApprovalEvidence-Based MedicineHumansInfusions, IntravenousKetamineUnited StatesUnited States Food and Drug AdministrationAntidepressive AgentsEsketamineKetamineEsketamineevidence-based medicineFDAregulatory policiestreatment-resistant depression

Identifiers

PMID31841104
PMCPMC8061126
OpenAlexW2995768649

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.