Ketamine is a general anesthetic medication that is used both in the operating room for patients requiring general anesthesia to undergo surgery as well in the ED for sedation for painful procedures. Administration of ketamine results in a cataleptic-like state during which the patient feels dissociated from the surrounding environment. Typical dosing for procedural sedation is 1 to 2 mg/kg (usual adult dose of 100 mg) infused over 1 to 2 minutes. Side effects of ketamine include confusion, delirium, hallucinations, dreamlike state, respiratory depression, nausea and vomiting, salivation, and nystagmus. Significantly, ketamine is both a high-risk drug that should be labeled with an appropriate warning label and is not a drug that would be needed emergently, so it should not be accessible via a Pyxis doctor override.
Ketamine administration medical expert witness specialties include emergency medicine and medical toxicology.