INDICATIONS

• General Anesthesia: Ketamine is used to induce a state of “dissociative anesthesia,” characterized by a trance-like state and profound pain relief. Unlike some other anesthetics, it maintains protective reflexes like coughing and swallowing, which helps assure a patent airway. It is frequently combined with other drugs (like benzodiazepines or alpha-2 adrenergic agonists) to improve muscle relaxation, as ketamine alone can cause increased muscle tone or spastic movements.
• Sedation and Restraint: At lower doses, ketamine is used to facilitate the safe handling and restraint of fractious or wild animals for physical examinations, minor procedures, or diagnostic imaging like radiography.
• Pain Control (Analgesia): Ketamine is a key component of multimodal pain management protocols, both during and after surgery (perioperative analgesia). Its unique action helps prevent “wind-up” or central sensitization of pain pathways, making other pain medications like opioids more effective and reducing the overall opioid requirement. It can also be used for managing chronic or neuropathic pain conditions, often as a low-dose constant rate infusion (CRI). 

ADMINISTRATION

• Intravenously (IV): This route provides the fastest effect, usually within one minute, and is often used for inducing anesthesia. When given intravenously, ketamine should be injected slowly to avoid respiratory depression. It can also be administered as a continuous rate infusion (CRI) for maintaining anesthesia or managing pain.
• Intramuscularly (IM): This is a recommended and common route, especially for fractious or non-domesticated animals where IV access might be difficult. Effects are typically seen within 3 to 10 minutes.
• Subcutaneously (SC): This route can be used in some cases, particularly for low-dose, longer-lasting pain management protocols in chronic conditions.
• Intraperitoneally (IP): This route is sometimes used for small animals like mice, rats, and guinea pigs.