ReviewBJPsych open2021
Ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: comprehensive systematic review.
Review in BJPsych open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT06821087 (Evaluating the Neuromodulatory Effect of Ketamine in Long COVID), which is not on this map. Cited by 59 papers, 2 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.
Evaluating the Neuromodulatory Effect of Ketamine in Long COVID: A Pilot Study Targeting Fatigue and Neurocognitive Symptoms
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 169 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) changes in rodent models of schizophrenia induced by ketamine: a systematic review.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of psychedelics on neurogenesis and broader neuroplasticity: a systematic review.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Pooled it
- A Randomised Controlled Trial on the Efficacy of Ketamine versus Electroconvulsive Therapy in Severe Depression with Suicidal Ideation.Neuropsychobiology · 2026Trial
- Ketamine for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: Double-blind active-controlled crossover study.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025Trial
- Development and validation of a short-form (6-item) version of the clinician-administered dissociative states scale (CADSS-SF).European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Ketamine for Depression in Serious Illness: Evidence, Safety, and Practical Approaches.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2026Review
- Psychoactive and Neurobiological Effects of Ketamine in Humans: A Scoping Review of Clinical Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Self-treatment of psychiatric conditions using ketamine: Patterns, characteristics, and retrospective insights.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Associations between substance use treatment and ketamine use: A hypothesis-generating analysis.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Effects of a Single Sub-Anesthetic Dose of Ketamine in Tobacco Use Disorder: An Active-Placebo, Randomized Crossover Study.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Grayken lessons: a multidisciplinary approach to care for a patient with severe ketamine use disorder.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- Network Localization of Functional Brain Changes Associated With Ketamine's Therapeutic Effects in Depression.Biological psychiatry · 2026Article
- Ketamine versus propofol for procedural sedation in pediatric pulsed dye laser therapy: a prospective randomized trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Evidence in practice: implementing KAT in indigenous health services.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Identifying compounds to treat opiate use disorder by leveraging multi-omic data integration and multiple drug repurposing databases.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Self-reported changes and experiences with substance use among real-world patients treated with medical ketamine.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- The Role of Psychedelics in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- Investing in Group Psychedelic Therapy for Latinx Immigrants.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2025Article
- Arketamine: a scoping review of its use in humans.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn the past two decades, subanaesthetic doses of ketamine have been demonstrated to have rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, and accumulating research has demonstrated ketamine's therapeutic effects for a range of psychiatric conditions.
aimsIn light of these findings surrounding ketamine's psychotherapeutic potential, we systematically review the extant evidence on ketamine's effects in treating mental health disorders.
methodThe systematic review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (identifier CRD42019130636). Human studies investigating the therapeutic effects of ketamine in the treatment of mental health disorders were included. Because of the extensive research in depression, bipolar disorder and suicidal ideation, only systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included. We searched Medline and PsycINFO on 21 October 2020. Risk-of-bias analysis was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tools and A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) Checklist.
resultsWe included 83 published reports in the final review: 33 systematic reviews, 29 randomised controlled trials, two randomised trials without placebo, three non-randomised trials with controls, six open-label trials and ten retrospective reviews. The results were presented via narrative synthesis.
conclusionsSystematic reviews and meta-analyses provide support for robust, rapid and transient antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects of ketamine. Evidence for other indications is less robust, but suggests similarly positive and short-lived effects. The conclusions should be interpreted with caution because of the high risk of bias of included studies. Optimal dosing, modes of administration and the most effective forms of adjunctive psychotherapeutic support should be examined further.
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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.