A service evaluation of the use of sublingual ketamine for acute postoperative pain following colorectal surgery within an ERAS pathway.

Background: Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, is increasingly used as a perioperative adjunct to opioid anaesthesia for acute postoperative pain, with the intention of reducing postoperative opioid consumption [1]. There is little published evidence reporting the use of ketamine as a continued adjunct for acute post abdominal surgery pain, despite the additional utility of a sublingual administration route and it exhibiting no adverse effects on gut motility. Within one hospital at our institution, we have developed a sublingual postoperative ketamine protocol for patients recovering from major abdominal surgery, including those on an ERAS pathway.
Source: Clinical Nutrition ESPEN - Category: Nutrition Authors: Source Type: research