Medical uses Anesthesia

The use of ketamine in anesthesia reflects its characteristics. It is a drug of choice for short-term procedures when muscle relaxation is not required. The effect of ketamine on the respiratory and circulatory systems is different from that of other anesthetics. It suppresses breathing much less than most other available anesthetics. When used at anesthetic doses, ketamine usually stimulates rather than depresses the circulatory system.

Ketamine is frequently used in severely injured people and appears to be safe in this group. It has been widely used for emergency surgery in field conditions in war zones, for example, during the Vietnam War. A 2011 clinical practice guideline supports the use of ketamine as a sedative in emergency medicine, including during physically painful procedures. It is the drug of choice for people in traumatic shock who are at risk of hypotension. Low blood pressure is dangerous for people with severe head injury and ketamine is unlikely to lower blood pressure — conversely, often raising blood pressure, making it often the best suited for those with severe head injury.

Ketamine is an option in children, as the sole anesthetic for minor procedures or as an induction agent followed by neuromuscular blocker and tracheal intubation In particular, children with cyanotic heart disease and neuromuscular disorders are good candidates for ketamine anesthesia.

Pain

Adjunctive to morphine or on its own, ketamine reduces morphine use, pain level, nausea, and vomiting after surgery. 

Ketamine is especially useful in the prehospital setting, due to its effectiveness and low risk of respiratory depression. Ketamine has similar efficacy to opioids in a hospital emergency department setting for management of acute pain and for control of procedural pain. It may also prevent opioid-induced hyperalgesia and postanesthetic shivering