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BACKGROUND Ketamine is used as an induction and sedation agent in emergency departments and operating rooms throughout the country. Despite its widespread clinical use, there are few cases of significant morbidity and mortality attributed to ketamine overdose in the clinical setting. CASE REPORT The anesthesia provider in the room was an oral maxillofacial surgeon who inadvertently took out a more highly concentrated bottle of ketamine that is typically used for pediatric patients. The patient received 950 mg (100 mg/ml concentration) of intravenous ketamine instead of the intended 95 mg (10 mg/ml concentration). After the ketamine was given, there were no signs to any involved provider that a mistake had occurred until the wake-up appeared to be unusually prolonged. CONCLUSIONS Despite this, the patient did not demonstrate any systemic effects such as hemodynamic or CNS perturbations other than prolonged awakening. This case highlights one (drug overdose) of many causes of delayed emergence from anesthesia and reminds the provider caring for the patient to be mindful of drug concentrations used when preparing to sedate a patient, as relying on effects of the parent drug is not always adequate.

Background: Endotracheal intubation is a common procedure performed for critically ill patients that can have immediate life-threatening complications. Induction medications are routinely given to facilitate the procedure, but most of these medications are associated with hypotension. While etomidate is known for its neutral hemodynamic profile, it has been linked with increased mortality in septic patients and increased morbidity in trauma patients. Ketamine and propofol are effective anesthetics with counteracting cardiovascular profiles. No data are available about the use of this combination in critically ill patients undergoing endotracheal intubation., Case Report: We describe 6 cases in which the combination of ketamine and propofol ("ketofol") was used as an induction agent for endotracheal intubation in critically ill patients with a focus on hemodynamic outcomes. All patients received a neuromuscular blocker and fentanyl, while 5 patients received midazolam. We recorded mean arterial pressure (MAP) 1 minute before induction and 15 minutes after intubation with the combination. Of the 6 patients, 5 maintained a MAP ≥ 65 mmHg 15 minutes after intubation. One patient was on norepinephrine infusion with a MAP of 64 mmHg, and did not require an increase in the dose of the vasopressor 15 minutes after intubation. No hemodynamic complications were reported after any of the intubations., Conclusions: This case series describes the use of the "ketofol" combination as an induction agent for intubation in critically ill patients when hemodynamic stability is desired. Further research is needed to establish the safety of this combination and how it compares to other induction medications.