What is Ketamine? What is its Purpose? Medical and Veterinary Uses
Ketamine is a chemical we hear about frequently and is very important in the field of medicine. Ketamine was first discovered in 1962 when it was synthesized in a laboratory. After successful experiments on animals, scientists began testing the drug on humans in 1964. The FDA first approved ketamine for use as an anesthetic in 1970, and doctors began using the drug for injured soldiers during the Vietnam War.
What does ketamine mean? What exactly is ketamine? What does it do? Where to use? We have brought together the answers to all these questions for you.
What is Ketamine? What Does Ketamine Do?
Ketamine is chemically an arylcyclohexylamine derivative and a chiral compound. Most pharmaceutical preparations of ketamine are racemic. Esketamine (S-ketamine), the more active enantiomer of ketamine, is available for medical use under the name “Ketanest S”.
Ketamine is also a drug used to initiate and maintain the anesthesia process. When taken, it provides pain relief, sedation and memory loss, and puts the person in a trance-like state. It is also used for chronic pain, sedation in intensive care, and depression. Heart, respiratory reflexes and breathing functions under the influence of ketamine do not stop. Its effect starts within five to ten minutes from the moment it is given by injection and lasts up to twenty-five minutes.
What Is Ketamine Used For?
Medical Use
- Anesthesia: It is preferred as an anesthetic in medicine because it poses less obstacle to breathing than other anesthetics used. It is not preferred as a primary anesthetic because it causes hallucinations as a side effect. It is the first anesthetic agent preferred in cases where there is no reliable ventilation equipment. It is also used alone or as a muscle relaxant for minor operations in children, as a sedative in people with asthma, in cases requiring emergency surgery during wartime, and as a sedative in emergency rooms.
- Painkiller: It is preferred as a pain reliever after surgeries. A small dose of ketamine reduces vomiting and nausea after surgery, as well as reduces morphine use.
- Depression: It is an instant antidepressant for depression. It has also been shown that it may be effective in reducing suicidal thoughts. It was shown in studies in 2000 and 2006 that ketamine could be an antidepressant. It has been found that small doses of ketamine administered via intravenous infusion produce calming effects in depressed individuals within four hours. These effects last up to several weeks after a single dose. Traditional antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), usually require at least a few weeks of use for these benefits to occur. Ketamine antidepressants are more potent than traditional antidepressants.
Veterinary Use
Veterinarians generally use ketamine as an anesthetic and analgesic in cats, dogs, mice and rabbits; In short, they use it on small animals. It is used in induction and anesthetic care in horses. It is also considered a part of the anesthesia used in rodents.
Veterinarians often use ketamine in addition to sedatives to provide balanced anesthesia and analgesia. Ketamine, which is used as a painkiller in large animals, is thought to be less effective in cattle. In equine surgery, ketamine is the primary intravenous anesthetic agent, usually used in conjunction with detomidine and thiopental, and sometimes guaifenesin.
Use as a Drug
Ketamine, used recreationally, caused 90 deaths in England and Wales between 2005 and 2013, as well as many deaths around the world. It has caused many accidents such as suicide, poisoning, traffic accidents and drowning. Since these deaths were mostly among young people, increasing control and restrictions became inevitable.
In contrast to dissociatives such as phencyclidine (PCP) and dextromethorphan (DXM), ketamine has a very short duration of action. After taking ketamine, its effects begin within 10 minutes, and its hallucinogenic effects vary depending on the way it is taken. This period varies between 60 minutes (insufflation or injection) and 2 hours (oral).
Ketamine, taken in doses too small to cause anesthesia, causes a dissociative state characterized by desensitization to one's body and environment and a feeling of detachment known as derealization. In case of overdose, people who use the substance may face a situation called “K-hole”, which is a state of identity dissociation, as a result of some hallucinations they see and hear.
This substance has also been used in some rape cases, as it can cause amnesia, a state of confusion and indifference.