‘No quality studies’ back ketamine for chronic pain: Cochrane review
Ketamine is increasingly being used for chronic pain based on weak evidence and assumptions, the Australian-led review team said.
Evidence supporting ketamine treatment for chronic pain is flawed or non-existent, an Australian-led Cochrane review has concluded.
Amid a wider review of 67 studies on chronic pain and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists, researchers found 39 eligible trials of ketamine, none of which showed good evidence that ketamine reduced pain intensity.
“What was most surprising was the state of the literature,” said lead author Michael Ferraro, a doctoral candidate at UNSW Sydney.
“We don’t have any good quality studies.”
