Antidepressant Effect of Combined Ketamine and Electroconvulsive Therapy on Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Trial.

Background: One of the shortcomings of the available treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) is the time delay between starting the treatment and achieving an antidepressant response.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the effect of Ketamine as a synergistic antidepressant and anesthetic agent on MDD in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Patients And Methods: Twenty-two patients with MDD received Ketamine and Propofol as anesthetic agents compared with 20 patients as the control group who received Propofol in a double-blind randomized clinical trial.