Ketamine may help ICU patients breathe easier on ventilators
NCT ID NCT01969227
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at how a low dose of ketamine, a medicine often used for anesthesia, affects breathing and brain activity in 15 critically ill patients who were on breathing machines (ventilators) in the ICU. The goal was to see if ketamine could help stimulate breathing and improve airway function. The results help doctors understand how ketamine might be used to support breathing in these patients.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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15 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Jan 2014
- Finished
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Dec 2022
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥ 18 years admitted to ICU requiring mechanical ventilation * Suitable for spontaneous breathing trial * Candidate to received low dose ketamine by the primary critical care team Exclusion Criteria: * Esophageal injury * Allergic to ketamine * Known neurodegenerative disorders * Major neurologic disorders (elevated ICP)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
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Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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