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Peri-operative Ketamine for Acute Pain Management

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Analgesia in Major Abdominal Surgery

Abstract

Ketamine is an N-Methyl-d-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist which is widely used as an anaesthetic, analgesic and antihyperalgesic agent. Low-dose ketamine is a very potent analgesic adjuvant that can be used in conjunction with other non-opioid analgesics during and after abdominal surgery. Ketamine reduces post-operative pain and opioid analgesic requirements, thereby contributing directly and indirectly to early recovery of gastrointestinal function. When compared to opioid analgesics alone, patients receiving a combination of opioids and ketamine via patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) devices experience better pain control with less nausea and vomiting. The addition of ketamine to standardized anaesthetic and post-anaesthetic protocols can also contribute to improving patient safety, satisfaction and outcomes after abdominal surgery.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Naveen Eipe

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  1. Naveen Eipe
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Correspondence to Naveen Eipe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anaesthetics and Critical Care, Royal Blackburn Hospital, Blackburn, Lancashire, UK

    Anton Krige

  2. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Virginia Commonwealth University Hospital, Richmond, VA, USA

    Michael J. P. Scott

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Eipe, N. (2018). Peri-operative Ketamine for Acute Pain Management. In: Krige, A., Scott, M. (eds) Analgesia in Major Abdominal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94482-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94482-1_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-94480-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-94482-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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