A clinical study conducted by researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands evaluated the efficacy of a multi-day infusion regimen of intravenous ketamine for the treatment of Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1. This double blind, placebo-controlled study validated intravenous ketamine as a treatment for CRPS-1, which historically responds poorly to standard pain treatment. Sixty CRPS-1 patients were randomized into groups to undergo infusion therapy for 4.2 days with intravenous ketamine or placebo. The researchers measured pain levels in these patients using a numerical pain score assessment. They found that pain scores over the 12 week study period in patients receiving ketamine were significantly lower compared to those that received placebo (P<0.001). Importantly, after the 12th week, statistical significance between the two groups was lost, indicating that the infusion regimen that the researchers used is not a permanent fix for CRPS-1. Nonetheless, it did provide relatively long lasting relief in a patient population that is desperate for more effective therapies. Intravenous ketamine could be the answer that they’re looking for.
Future studies should focus on the optimal dose of intravenous ketamine and possible synergistic combination drugs to enhance the efficacy of this treatment option for the treatment of chronic pain conditions, like CRPS. A new combination ketamine infusion therapy is offered at the Florida Spine Institute that might just be the answer for long lasting analgesic efficacy. To find out if this procedure is right for your chronic pain, please make an appointment to see Dr. Ashraf Hanna, an expert pain management doctor with significant experience using intravenous ketamine. It is our goal at the Florida Spine Institute to conduct the cutting edge research necessary to eradicate CRPS once and for all.
Full Citation:
Sigtermans, M.J., van Hilten, J.J., Bauer, M.C., Arbous, M.S., Marinus, J., Sarton, E.Y., Dahan, A., 2009. Ketamine produces effective and long-term pain relief in patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1. Pain 145, 304-311.