Ketamine Infusion Therapy

Ketamine infusion for suitable patients

Marian Centre in collaboration with Anoydne provides Ketamine Infusion to suitable patients seeking management of treatment resistant depression, suicidality and PTSD.

Ketamine Infusions can provide substantial and rapid improvement to depressive, suicidal thinking and trauma related symptoms, particularly where they have shown resistance to treatment. Understanding the process, benefits and effectiveness of any medical treatment is essential when deciding if it is right for you.

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is best described as a “dissociative anesthetic” and has been used in anesthesia and pain medicine for a number of years. It has recently enjoyed a resurgence, particularly in the field of psychiatry, given its rapid onset of action in depression treatment. When effective some patients can see a positive result within a few hours of a single infusion.

How does ketamine work?

Ketamine activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) nerve receptor plays an important role in pain, mood, and cognition. In mood disorders there are multiple mechanisms of action, but in general terms ketamine acts to repair the damaged nerve cells implicated in depression and PTSD.

The process

Patients will first need to be screened for treatment to ensure suitability. This will involve completing a series of questionnaires, blood tests, ECG and a medical review. If deemed suitable, patients are then booked for a treatment course.

At Marian Centre Ketamine infusions are completed as part of a 2 week stay in hospital where patients receive a series of 6 treatments. Treatment sessions are conducted on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If there is a positive result, patients will typically need to go on to a maintenance treatment regimen. This is completed as an outpatient through Anodyne. Maintenance varies from patient to patient, but can be a single infusion every 4 weeks.

There are different ways to receive a ketamine infusion. At Marian Centre it is completed as either an IV (intra-venous, in the vein) or SC (subcutaneously, under the skin) infusion over 40-60min.

Treatment is administered and managed by medical and nursing staff trained in the use of ketamine infusion therapies.