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Anesthesia
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Pain
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Sedation
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Agitation and
aggression -
Psychiatric
disorders
Ketamine is used as an anesthetic agent.
Ketamine has been used to reduce the severity of acute as well as chronic pain. As examples, ketamine has been used to reduce post-surgical pain, or pain associated with injury in patients brought for emergency care, to pain associated with cancer.
Ketamine has been used to sedate patients, such as children who require dental care, or children who are undergoing MRI scans and who need to lie motionless in the scanner.
Ketamine has been used to calm agitated and aggressive patients who are being brought to the hospital by ambulance staff, or agitated and aggressive patients who are seen in emergency care.
Ketamine has been used to treat patients with acute and chronic depression, including patients who have not responded to standard antidepressant treatments.