Abstract
Objectives: It is unclear whether ketamine induces subclinical respiratory depression when administered in dissociative doses intravenously (IV). The authors report a pilot study of capnography in emergency department (ED) pediatric patients receiving ketamine alone for procedural sedation, and describe serial measures of ventilatory response [end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2), respiratory rate, pulse oximetryl. Methods: The authors performed continuous capnography on a convenience sample of 20 ED pediatric patients who received ketamine 1.5 mg/kg IV for procedural sedation. Results: Continuous EtCO2 and pulse oximetry remained essentially unchanged following ketamine injection, and no EtCO2 levels > 47 mm Hg were noted at any point throughout sedation. Conclusions: No hypoventilation was observed in 20 ED pediatric patients receiving ketamine 1.5 mg/kg administered IV over 1 minute. The authors found no evidence of respiratory depressant properties for this dissociative agent.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 140-145 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Academic Emergency Medicine |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Feb 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Capnography
- Dissociative sedation
- Ketamine
- Procedural sedation
- Respiratory depression
- Sedation
- Ventilatory response