Intravenous (IV) ketamine and intranasal (IN) esketamine are novel therapies to manage treatment resistant depression within major depressive disorder (MDD-TRD). This is a multi-site observational study aiming to assess the real-world effectiveness and tolerability of these novel therapies in the management of MDD-TRD. 53 patients were referred to receive IV ketamine (n = 26, 69.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) last published clinical guidelines for the management of major depressive disorder (MDD) in 2016. Owing to advances in the field, an update was needed to incorporate new evidence and provide new and revised recommendations for the assessment and management of MDD in adults.
Methods: CANMAT convened a guidelines editorial group comprised of academic clinicians and patient partners.
Background: Intravenous (IV) ketamine is a rapid acting antidepressant used primarily for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). It has been suggested that IV ketamine's rapid antidepressant effects may be partially mediated improved sleep and changes to the circadian rhythm.
Objectives: This study explores IV ketamine's association with changes in patient-reported sleep quality and circadian rhythm in an adult population with TRD.
Background: Though intravenous (IV) ketamine and intranasal (IN) esketamine are noted to be efficacious for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), access to each of these treatments within healthcare systems is limited due to cost, availability, and/or monitoring requirements. IV ketamine has been offered at two public hospital sites in Edmonton, Canada since 2015. Since then, demand for maintenance ketamine treatments has grown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Rationale: Depression is a common mental illness that afflicts over 300 million individuals worldwide. Despite a variety of therapeutic options available, a significant number of depressed patients fail to respond to treatment. Current guidelines for treating depression suggest that supplementation of essential nutrients may be an appropriate adjunctive to treatment, but research investigating full dietary interventions for depressed patients is scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Esketamine is the S-enantiomer of racemic ketamine and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the management of treatment resistant depression, demonstrating effective and long-lasting benefits. The objective of this observational study is to elucidate the association of intranasal (IN) esketamine with beneficial and negative outcomes in the management of treatment resistant major depressive disorder.
Methods And Analysis: This is a multicentre prospective cohort observational study of naturalistic clinical practice.
Ketamine has gained rapid popularity as a treatment option for treatment resistant depression (TRD). Though seen only in limited contexts, ketamine is a potential drug of abuse, addiction and diversion. Clinical ketamine studies to date have not systematically evaluated factors relevant to addiction risk in patients with TRD, but in treating patients with ketamine, risks of potential harms related to addiction must be considered.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKetamine is a versatile medication with an emerging role for the treatment of numerous psychiatric conditions, including treatment resistant depression. Current psychiatry guidelines for its intravenous administration to treat depression recommend regular blood pressure monitoring and an aggressive approach to potential transient hypertensive episodes induced by ketamine infusions. While this approach is aimed at ensuring patient safety, it should be updated to align with best practice guidelines in the management of hypertension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile ketamine has been used clinically over the past decades, it has only been recently shown to be a promising therapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, ketamine and related dissociative agents may also be misused recreationally, creating significant concerns for abuse liability when prescribed for depression. Although the abuse potential of ketamine is widely recognized, there is limited evidence on the differential abuse liability of ketamine enantiomers, (S)-ketamine and (R)-ketamine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Intravenous (IV) ketamine and intranasal (IN) esketamine have been studied as novel alternatives to manage treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The objective of this observational pilot study is to compare the real-world effectiveness and tolerability of IV ketamine and IN esketamine in the management of unipolar TRD.
Objective: To compare the effectiveness (primary outcome measure) and tolerability (secondary outcome measure) of racemic ketamine and esketamine in the management of TRD in adults and provide an expert qualitative commentary on the application of IV ketamine and IN esketamine in clinical practice (exploratory objective), focusing on the recruitment process, patient retention, effectiveness, and tolerability of the treatments.
Intravenous (IV) ketamine is increasingly used off-label at subanesthetic doses for its rapid antidepressant effect, and intranasal (IN) esketamine has been recently approved in several countries for treating depression. The clinical utility of these treatments is limited by a paucity of publicly funded IV ketamine and IN esketamine programs and cost barriers to private treatment programs, as well as the drug cost for IN esketamine itself, which makes generic ketamine alternatives an attractive option. Though evidence is limited, use of non-parenteral racemic ketamine formulations (oral, sublingual, and IN) may offer more realistic access in less rigidly supervised settings, both for acute and maintenance treatment in select cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to trigger a global mental health crisis increasing demand for mental health emergency services. We undertook a rapid review of the impact of pandemics and epidemics on emergency department utilization for mental health (MH) and substance use (SU). To rapidly synthesize available data on emergency department utilization for psychiatric concerns during COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Patients with major depressive disorder often have limited response to first-line and second-line medications; hence, novel pharmacological treatments are needed for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Ketamine, an -methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, has demonstrated rapid antidepressant effects in patients with TRD. The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) convened a task force to review the evidence for efficacy and safety of racemic ketamine and to provide recommendations for its use in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) is a common and burdensome condition with poor outcomes and few treatment options. Esketamine is the S-enantiomer of ketamine and has recently been FDA approved in the United States for treating depression that has failed to respond to trials of two or more antidepressants. : This review will briefly discuss current treatment options for TRD, then review esketamine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Previous studies have demonstrated ketamine to have a rapid antidepressant effect in some patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but the effect is unfortunately not sustained in the long term. In this study, we report on the clinical use of ongoing maintenance ketamine infusions in a group of patients with TRD, beyond an acute course of 6 to 8 ketamine infusions.
Methods: This retrospective case series reports on 11 patients with TRD who received maintenance ketamine infusions, defined as treatments beyond an initial series of up to 8 infusions.
Objective: Psychiatric residents spend much time as teachers and mentors to medical students. Recently, the Canadian Medical Education Directions for Specialists (CanMEDS) roles identified the importance of this role as a scholar. Residents are now expected to develop skills to fulfill this role, one of which involves the ability to teach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated the prevalence of anxiety disorders in a sample of individuals with chronic schizophrenia, controlling for anxiety symptoms that may be related to delusions and hallucinations, and the possible differences in clinical variables between the groups. Individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and able to give informed consent were recruited from the community. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was administered to both confirm the DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia and screen for comorbid anxiety disorders.
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