A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial of the preoperative use of ketamine for reducing inflammation and pain after thoracic surgery.

Purpose: We hypothesized that patients who received ketamine during thoracic surgery would benefit from suppression of the inflammatory cascade, represented by lower interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) plasma levels.

Methods: This study was a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial of ketamine in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. The setting was a single university teaching hospital.