Based primarily on small-scale studies and numerous case reports, much excitement has been built around the use of ketamine in the treatment of mood disorder. Intravenous (IV) administration of ketamine leads to rapid and often robust antidepressant effects; however, ketamine's antidepressant effects are transient and short-lived. Presently, several clinics are attempting to optimize the antidepressant effects of ketamine by providing longer-term, repeated ketamine administration. Yet, the lack of larger-scale clinical trials has left serious knowledge gaps in terms of guidance for how prolonged ketamine administration should be best handled.

Given these knowledge gaps, the American Psychiatric Association Council of Research Task Force on Novel Biomarkers and Treatment Recommendations for Clinical Use of Ketamine has recently published a consensus statement in order to elucidate the state of the research and provide some (limited) guidance regarding the treatment of mood disorders with ketamine. Based on available studies as well as a recent meta-analysis performed by the American Psychiatric Association, the authors provide expert clinical opinion and tentative recommendations on treatment of mood disorders with ketamine.

Highlights of these recommendations are summarized in the following table.

Sanacora G, Frye MA, McDonald W et al. A consensus statement on the use of ketamine in the treatment of mood disorders. JAMA Psychiatry 2017; Epub ahead of print.

>> Sanacora et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2017