Drug believed to reduce postoperative pain and delirium does neither

(Washington University School of Medicine) Anesthesiologists routinely give surgery patients low doses of the drug ketamine to blunt postoperative pain and reduce the need for opioid drugs. Recent research even has suggested ketamine might protect older patients from postsurgical delirium and confusion. But an international, multicenter trial led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Michigan has found that ketamine does neither.

from EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science http://ift.tt/2qxtqvo