Ketamine inhibits tumor necrosis factor secretion by RAW264.7 murine macrophages stimulated with antibiotic-exposed strains of community-associated, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: Infections caused by community-associated strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) are associated with a marked and prolonged host inflammatory response. In a sepsis simulation model, we tested whether the anesthetic ketamine inhibits the macrophage TNF response to antibiotic-exposed CA-MRSA bacteria via its antagonism of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. RAW264.