Outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the United States and Canada: a retrospective analysis

Purpose Ketamine has historically been contraindicated in traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to concern for raising intracranial pressure. However, it is increasingly being used in TBI due to the favorable respiratory and hemodynamic properties. To date, no studies have evaluated whether ketamine admi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Austin J. Peters, Saad A. Khan, Seiji Koike, Susan Rowell, Martin Schreiber
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Korean Society of Traumatology 2023-12-01
Series:Journal of Trauma and Injury
Subjects:
Online Access:http://jtraumainj.org/upload/pdf/jti-2023-0034.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850030156530319360
author Austin J. Peters
Saad A. Khan
Seiji Koike
Susan Rowell
Martin Schreiber
author_facet Austin J. Peters
Saad A. Khan
Seiji Koike
Susan Rowell
Martin Schreiber
author_sort Austin J. Peters
collection DOAJ
description Purpose Ketamine has historically been contraindicated in traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to concern for raising intracranial pressure. However, it is increasingly being used in TBI due to the favorable respiratory and hemodynamic properties. To date, no studies have evaluated whether ketamine administered in subjects with TBI is associated with patient survival or disability. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of data from the multicenter Prehospital Tranexamic Acid Use for Traumatic Brain Injury trial, comparing ketamine-exposed and ketamine-unexposed TBI subjects to determine whether an association exists between ketamine administration and mortality, as well as secondary outcome measures. Results We analyzed 841 eligible subjects from the original study, of which 131 (15.5%) received ketamine. Ketamine-exposed subjects were younger (37.3±16.9 years vs. 42.0±18.6 years, P=0.037), had a worse initial Glasgow Coma Scale score (7±3 vs. 8±4, P=0.003), and were more likely to be intubated than ketamine-unexposed subjects (88.5% vs. 44.2%, P<0.001). Overall, there was no difference in mortality (12.2% vs. 15.5%, P=0.391) or disability measures between groups. Ketamine-exposed subjects had significantly fewer instances of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) compared to ketamine-unexposed subjects (56.3% vs. 82.3%, P=0.048). In the very rare outcomes of cardiac events and seizure activity, seizure activity was statistically more likely in ketamine-exposed subjects (3.1% vs. 1.0%, P=0.010). In the intracranial hemorrhage subgroup, cardiac events were more likely in ketamine-exposed subjects (2.3% vs. 0.2%, P=0.025). Ketamine exposure was associated with a smaller increase in TBI protein biomarker concentrations. Conclusions Ketamine administration was not associated with worse survival or disability despite being administered to more severely injured subjects. Ketamine exposure was associated with reduced elevations of ICP, more instances of seizure activity, and lower concentrations of TBI protein biomarkers.
format Article
id doaj-art-fbbadcafdcb5468f98c344bc2cff9294
institution DOAJ
issn 2799-4317
2287-1683
language English
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher Korean Society of Traumatology
record_format Article
series Journal of Trauma and Injury
spelling doaj-art-fbbadcafdcb5468f98c344bc2cff92942025-08-20T02:59:18ZengKorean Society of TraumatologyJournal of Trauma and Injury2799-43172287-16832023-12-0136435436110.20408/jti.2023.00341271Outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the United States and Canada: a retrospective analysisAustin J. Peters0Saad A. Khan1Seiji Koike2Susan Rowell3Martin Schreiber4 Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA Biostatistics and Design Program, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA Donald D. Trunkey Center for Civilian and Combat Casualty Care, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USAPurpose Ketamine has historically been contraindicated in traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to concern for raising intracranial pressure. However, it is increasingly being used in TBI due to the favorable respiratory and hemodynamic properties. To date, no studies have evaluated whether ketamine administered in subjects with TBI is associated with patient survival or disability. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of data from the multicenter Prehospital Tranexamic Acid Use for Traumatic Brain Injury trial, comparing ketamine-exposed and ketamine-unexposed TBI subjects to determine whether an association exists between ketamine administration and mortality, as well as secondary outcome measures. Results We analyzed 841 eligible subjects from the original study, of which 131 (15.5%) received ketamine. Ketamine-exposed subjects were younger (37.3±16.9 years vs. 42.0±18.6 years, P=0.037), had a worse initial Glasgow Coma Scale score (7±3 vs. 8±4, P=0.003), and were more likely to be intubated than ketamine-unexposed subjects (88.5% vs. 44.2%, P<0.001). Overall, there was no difference in mortality (12.2% vs. 15.5%, P=0.391) or disability measures between groups. Ketamine-exposed subjects had significantly fewer instances of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) compared to ketamine-unexposed subjects (56.3% vs. 82.3%, P=0.048). In the very rare outcomes of cardiac events and seizure activity, seizure activity was statistically more likely in ketamine-exposed subjects (3.1% vs. 1.0%, P=0.010). In the intracranial hemorrhage subgroup, cardiac events were more likely in ketamine-exposed subjects (2.3% vs. 0.2%, P=0.025). Ketamine exposure was associated with a smaller increase in TBI protein biomarker concentrations. Conclusions Ketamine administration was not associated with worse survival or disability despite being administered to more severely injured subjects. Ketamine exposure was associated with reduced elevations of ICP, more instances of seizure activity, and lower concentrations of TBI protein biomarkers.http://jtraumainj.org/upload/pdf/jti-2023-0034.pdfketaminetraumatic brain injuriesbiomarkersintracranial pressureglial fibrillary acidic protein
spellingShingle Austin J. Peters
Saad A. Khan
Seiji Koike
Susan Rowell
Martin Schreiber
Outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the United States and Canada: a retrospective analysis
Journal of Trauma and Injury
ketamine
traumatic brain injuries
biomarkers
intracranial pressure
glial fibrillary acidic protein
title Outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the United States and Canada: a retrospective analysis
title_full Outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the United States and Canada: a retrospective analysis
title_fullStr Outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the United States and Canada: a retrospective analysis
title_full_unstemmed Outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the United States and Canada: a retrospective analysis
title_short Outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the United States and Canada: a retrospective analysis
title_sort outcomes and physiologic responses associated with ketamine administration after traumatic brain injury in the united states and canada a retrospective analysis
topic ketamine
traumatic brain injuries
biomarkers
intracranial pressure
glial fibrillary acidic protein
url http://jtraumainj.org/upload/pdf/jti-2023-0034.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT austinjpeters outcomesandphysiologicresponsesassociatedwithketamineadministrationaftertraumaticbraininjuryintheunitedstatesandcanadaaretrospectiveanalysis
AT saadakhan outcomesandphysiologicresponsesassociatedwithketamineadministrationaftertraumaticbraininjuryintheunitedstatesandcanadaaretrospectiveanalysis
AT seijikoike outcomesandphysiologicresponsesassociatedwithketamineadministrationaftertraumaticbraininjuryintheunitedstatesandcanadaaretrospectiveanalysis
AT susanrowell outcomesandphysiologicresponsesassociatedwithketamineadministrationaftertraumaticbraininjuryintheunitedstatesandcanadaaretrospectiveanalysis
AT martinschreiber outcomesandphysiologicresponsesassociatedwithketamineadministrationaftertraumaticbraininjuryintheunitedstatesandcanadaaretrospectiveanalysis