# Ketamine

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/ketamine/  
OnCo record `ketamine` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Ketamine is an anaesthetic used for sedation and pain relief during procedures, including in children having cancer care procedures, given by staff trained in anaesthesia.

## Summary

The Ketalar label covers use as the sole anaesthetic for diagnostic and surgical procedures that do not need muscle relaxation, induction of anaesthesia, and as a supplement to other anaesthetics. NICE CG112 requires a professional trained in delivering anaesthetic agents to be available when opioids are combined with ketamine for sedation in under-19s, and advises against routinely using ketamine or opioids for painless imaging. The Ketalar NDA was approved on 19 February 1970.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-11-11
- Tags: supportive; generic; supportive-care-gaps-2026-11
- Brand: Ketalar
- Modality: Intravenous or intramuscular general anaesthetic
- Mechanism: A dissociative anaesthetic that blocks NMDA receptors.
- Approvals: US 1970: Sole anaesthetic for procedures not requiring muscle relaxation; induction of anaesthesia; supplement to other anaesthetics

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketamine
- US label (DailyMed): Ketalar: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=14e8f864-8b8a-4e7e-8439-e510d3107063
- NICE CG112: Sedation in under 19s, using sedation for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, recommendations: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg112/chapter/Recommendations

## Connected records

- drugs: [Midazolam](https://onco.cc/drugs/midazolam/), [Propofol](https://onco.cc/drugs/propofol/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/ketamine.json