You use ketamine. I use ketamine. We all use ketamine. But… how safe it is, really? A new study out of Toronto suggests 30% of patients who receive ketamine have adverse events, a rate higher than seen in the ED. What are we to make of this? I bring Dr Remle Crowe on to discuss…

Citations:

1.     Kwong JL, Verbeek PR, Leong YC, Turner L, Huiskamp M, Drennan IR, Francom S, Ropp S, Cheskes S: Paramedic use of ketamine for severe agitation and violence. Can J Emerg Med. doi: 10.1007/s43678-025-00963-w (Epub ahead of print).

2.     Fernandez AR, Bourn SS, Crowe RP, Bronsky ES, Scheppke KA, Antevy P, Myers JB: Out-of-Hospital Ketamine: Indications for Use, Patient Outcomes, and Associated Mortality. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 2021;78(1):123–31.

3.     Brown LH, Crowe RP, Pepe PE, Miller ML, Watanabe BL, Kordik SS, Wampler DA, Page DI, Fernandez AR, Bourn SS, et al.: Adverse events following emergent prehospital sedation of patients with behavioral emergencies: A retrospective cohort study. The Lancet Regional Health - Americas. 2022;May;9:100183.