105
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Acute Pain and Perioperative Care

Efficacy and Safety of Ketamine Compared with Placebo and Other Medications for Preventing Propofol Injection Pain in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon &
Pages 459-476 | Received 05 Oct 2023, Accepted 19 Jan 2024, Published online: 02 Feb 2024
 

Abstract

Purpose

To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ketamine in preventing propofol injection pain (PIP).

Patients and Methods

The electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched from their inception until 2 August 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) comparing ketamine with placebo or other interventions to alleviate PIP in adults were included. Fixed-effects or random-effects models were used to calculate pooled risk ratios (RR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) based on the heterogeneity of the studies included.

Results

Thirteen RCTs involving 2105 patients were included. In terms of reducing the incidence of PIP, ketamine is more effective than placebo (RR = 0.43, 95% CI = [0.34, 0.55], P < 0.00001), lidocaine (RR = 0.70, 95% CI = [0.55, 0.90], P = 0.005), dexmedetomidine (RR = 0.52, 95% CI = [0.40, 0.66], P < 0.00001), and thiopental (RR = 0.25, 95% CI = [0.08, 0.83], P = 0.02). In reducing the incidence of severe PIP, ketamine is superior to placebo (RR = 0.12, 95% CI = [0.08, 0.19], P < 0.00001), and lidocaine (RR = 0.34, 95% CI = [0.21, 0.56], P < 0.0001), except dexmedetomidine (RR = 0.20, 95% CI = [0.04, 1.13], P = 0.07), and thiopental (RR = 0.33, 95% CI = [0.04, 3.10], P = 0.33). Compared with mixed injection, separate injection of ketamine and propofol showed no significant difference in the incidence of PIP (RR = 0.96, 95% CI = [0.31, 3.00], P = 0.95) and severe PIP (RR = 1.19, 95% CI = [0.07, 21.29], P = 0.90). Based solely on the reports from the studies included, subanesthetic doses of ketamine are generally safe in preventing PIP.

Conclusion

A subanesthetic dose of ketamine can effectively and safely reduce the incidence of PIP and severe PIP in adults, and is more effective than lidocaine, dexmedetomidine, and thiopental.

Registration

PROSPERO CRD42023455093.

Data Sharing Statement

The corresponding author of this study can provide the data upon request.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

No external funding was received for this study.