The following is a summary of “Ketamine in fibromyalgia: a systematic review,” published in the July 2024 issue of Rheumatology by Carvalho et al.
Antidepressants often lose efficacy or cause AEs in fibromyalgia (FM) treatment, leading some studies to explore the use of the anesthetic drug ketamine.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of ketamine for treating patients with FM.
They conducted a systematic search for articles on FM and ketamine published in PubMed (1966 to 2021). This study is registered with PROSPERO.
The result showed 6 studies encompassing 115 patients. The majority of participants were female (88 to 100%), with ages ranging from 23 to 53 years and disease durations from 1 month to 28 years. Ketamine dosages varied, with intravenous infusions ranging from 0.1 mg/kg to 0.3-0.5 mg/kg and a subcutaneous dose of 0.5 mg/kg. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores improved significantly, with pre-treatment scores ranging from 59 to 100 mm and post-treatment scores from 2 to 95 mm. Most short-term studies reported favorable outcomes, although the study with 8 weeks of follow-up did not show positive results. Side effects were common but typically emerged during infusion and resolved within minutes of ketamine administration.
Investigators concluded that ketamine shows short-term effectiveness and safety in patients with FM, though additional long-term studies are needed.
Source: advancesinrheumatology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42358-024-00393-9
