Details Regarding Ketamine Infusions

Ketamine infusions for pain generally require a stay of 7 hours at the surgical facility. In the first hour, preparations for the infusions are made, and paperwork is completed. Monitors are applied, and intravenous line is established and preoperative medications are provided.

For the next 4 hours ketamine infusion is performed. Once the infusion is completed, patients stay an average of 2 additional hours to recover from the ketamine. If side effects are noted at the completion of the ketamine infusion, medications are provided to ameliorate the side effects.

Thus, with 1 hour of preparation, 4 hours of infusion and 2 hours of recovery, the entire process for ketamine infusions is approximately 7 hours.

Regarding the stay for ketamine infusions we highly recommend against long periods of transportation following the ketamine infusion because it causes nausea. For this reason, we have arranged a contract with a quality local hotel to provide a discounted rate of less than $100 per day. Most patients from out of town choose to reside at this hotel during the infusions.

Should a patient request nursing care immediately following the infusion, private nurses are available to be contracted to provide services for the several hours after the infusion for patients who desire to use this service.

Because the California Pain Medicine Center has been providing ketamine for chronic pain, services have been sought out by psychiatrists to provide ketamine for depression. Our policy is only to provide ketamine for depression at the recommendation of a psychiatrist who is independent of our facility. The infusion for depression is 1 hour and the total time at the facility is less than 3 hours, including preparation and fusion and recovery. Side effects tend to be much less than for pain infusions because the dosage is much lower and the duration of the infusion is one-fourth as long.

We have been performing ketamine infusions for depression for more than a decade in collaboration with local psychiatrists.

Intranasal ketamine is available by prescription. Intravenous ketamine has the advantage of greater patient monitoring, and more importantly a larger therapeutic dose because 100% of the intravenous ketamine is taken into the blood of the patient as opposed to nasal ketamine where not all administered ketamine is absorbed. Patients who have experienced intranasal ketamine and intravenous infusions have expressed to us their strong preference and greater efficacy for the intravenous infusions.