Ketamine infusions improve symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, study says

People who got intravenous ketamine at three private ketamine infusion clinics had "significant improvement" in symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, a study says.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, adds to a growing body of research showing ketamine's promise in treating these conditions.

It "gives some more real-world data, which is incredibly important" because it helps show its potential to work in a more general population, said Dr. Gerard Sanacora, a psychiatry professor at the Yale School of Medicine.

But the study leaves some critical gaps, including data on adverse effects and direct comparisons to other options, that make it difficult to conclude how it should be used, he said.

Ketamine is a powerful medication used in hospitals primarily as an anesthetic. It's also used illegally as a club drug that creates an intense high and dissociative effects. Because it's not approved to treat depression and thus is used for that purpose "off-label," it is not covered by insurance, even when it's recommended by a doctor.

The researchers looked at data on 424 people with treatment-resistant depression who were treated between November 2017 and May 2021 at three ketamine infusion clinics in Virginia that specialize in people with suicidal ideation, depression or anxiety. During each visit to the clinic, the patients filled out physical and mental health surveys. The patients were given six infusions within 21 days.

Within six weeks of beginning infusions, the researchers say, half of the participants responded to the treatment, and 20% had depressive symptoms in remission. After 10 infusions, response and remission rates were 72% and 38%, respectively.