1. Real-world effectiveness of repeated ketamine infusions for treatment resistant depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Author
-
Rosenblat, Joshua D., Lipsitz, Orly, Di Vincenzo, Joshua D., Rodrigues, Nelson B., Kratiuk, Kevin, Subramaniapillai, Mehala, Lee, Yena, Arekapudi, Anil K., Abrishami, Amir, Chau, Edmond H., Szpejda, Witold, Wong, Leslie, Mansur, Rodrigo B., and McIntyre, Roger S.
- Subjects
- *
COVID-19 pandemic , *KETAMINE , *LONELINESS , *COVID-19 , *MENTAL depression , *ADULTS , *KETAMINE abuse - Abstract
• 107 adults with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) received intravenous (IV) ketamine during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Compared to 160 adults who were treated in a time-matched period from 2019 to 2020, improvements in depressive symptoms, suicidality, anxiety, and functioning did not significantly differ. • Treatment response did not appear to be associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, despite possible increased loneliness and social isolation. Herein we evaluate the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on antidepressant effectiveness of intravenous (IV) ketamine in adults with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). We conducted a case series analysis of adults with TRD (n = 267) who received four ketamine infusions at an outpatient clinic in Ontario, Canada, during COVID-19 restrictions (from March 2020 - February 2021; n = 107), compared to patients who received treatment in the previous year (March 2019 - February 2020; n = 160). Both groups experienced significant and comparable improvements in depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and anxiety with repeated ketamine infusions. Effectiveness of IV ketamine was not attenuated during the COVID-19 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF