ReviewPain research & management2023
Application of Ketamine in Pain Management and the Underlying Mechanism.
Review in Pain research & management, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of perioperative esketamine administration on the incidence of postoperative delirium: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of low-dose ketamine compared to morphine on the severity of acute pain in emergency situations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Unlocking the Potential of Ketamine: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of its Safety and Efficacy in Acute Pain Management.Combinatorial chemistry & high throughput screening · 2025Pooled it
- Ketamine's impact on rumination-related brain dynamics: insights from a randomized controlled fMRI trial.Translational psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Efficacy and safety of esketamine hydrochloride injection at different dosages for patients undergoing radical thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer: a randomized trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Trial
- Could Wound Instillation Provide an Efficient Analgesia Comparable to That Provided by PECS-II Block for Modified Radical Mastectomy Using Ketamine-Bupivacaine Combination? A Pilot Study.Local and regional anesthesia · 2025Trial
- The effect of low-dose ketamine on electroencephalographic spectrum during gynecology surgery under desflurane anesthesia.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2024Trial
- Comparative Electrocorticographic Signatures ofACS omega · 2026Article
- Psychoactive and Neurobiological Effects of Ketamine in Humans: A Scoping Review of Clinical Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- The role of esketamine in enhancing postoperative recovery and pain management in laparoscopic surgery: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.European journal of anaesthesiology and intensive care · 2026Review
- Article
- The 90% effective dose (EDBMC anesthesiology · 2026Article
- Review
- Integrating Peripheral Nerve Blocks in Multiple Trauma Care: Current Evidence and Clinical Challenges.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- The Utilization of Ultrasound-Guided Regional Nerve Blocks in Anesthetic Management for Fracture Surgery.Journal of pain research · 2025Review
- Effect of ketamine on cellular immunity and inflammation in patients who undergo laparoscopic colon cancer surgery: a retrospective study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Modulation of oxidative stress/NMDA/nitric oxide pathway by topiramate attenuates morphine dependence in mice.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Exploring the Role of Ketamine Sedation in Critically Ill Patients: A Comprehensive Review.Cureus · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Since ketamine was approved by the FDA as an intravenous anesthetic, it has been in clinical use for more than 50 years. Apart from its anesthetic effects, ketamine is one of the few intravenous anesthetics with potent analgesic properties. As part of the effort to develop pain management, renewed interest has focused on the use of ketamine for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Ketamine is commonly used to treat various kinds of chronic pain syndromes and is also applied to control perioperative pain and reduce the consumption of postoperative analgesics. However, its precise mechanisms of action remain mysterious for a large part. Despite extensive research in the field, the mechanism of ketamine is still unclear. Its analgesic effect appears to be largely mediated by blockade of NMDARs, but opioid, GABA, and monoaminergic system seem to partly participate in the pain transmission procedure. Its metabolites also have an analgesic effect, which may prolong pain relief. More recently, the antidepressant effect of ketamine has been considered to reduce pain-related aversion to relieve chronic pain. Overall, the analgesic mechanism of ketamine seems to be a complex combination of multiple factors. Due to its potent analgesic properties, ketamine is an analgesic with great clinical application prospects. Exploring the precise mechanism of action of ketamine will help guide clinical medication and confirm indications for ketamine analgesia. This review aims to list the application of ketamine in pain management and discuss its analgesic mechanism.
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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.