Loading...
Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, is safe and effective for children undergoing painful or disturbing procedures. Investigators from Loma Linda University previously published data on intravenous and intramuscular use of this drug (see JWEM Aug 1998, p. 68) In this study, they addressed the optimal IM dose of ketamine in the emergency department.
The authors retrospectively reviewed the charts of 1,022 children who received IM ketamine in the ED and the data forms completed by the treating physicians for 431 of these patients. The optimal sedative dose was determined to be 4 to 5 mg/kg. Times to discharge and rates of recovery agitation, emesis, and airway complications were similar in patients who received less than 4 mg/kg and those who…