SynthesisPsychopharmacology2021
Efficacy of ketamine for major depressive episodes at 2, 4, and 6-weeks post-treatment: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Psychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ketamine for mood disorders, anxiety, and suicidality in children and adolescents: a systematic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Dopamine in major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of in vivo imaging studies.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Investigational Drugs for the Treatment of Depression (Part 2): Glutamatergic, Cholinergic, Sestrin Modulators, and Other Agents.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Group-Based Symptom Trajectory of Intramuscular Administration of Scopolamine Augmentation in Moderate to Severe Major Depressive Disorder: A Post-Hoc Analysis.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2023Trial
- Depression in neurodegenerative disease: neurobiological mechanisms and emerging treatments.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Transforming treatment-resistant depression (TRD) care in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: a narrative review of emerging therapies, advancements, and implementation barriers.Annals of general psychiatry · 2026Review
- Sympathetic activation but not dissociation linked to ketamine's sustained antidepressant effect.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Sex specific effects of ketamine, but not other glutamate receptor modulators, on ethanol self-administration and reinstatement of ethanol seeking in rats.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- The influence of stakeholder interests on safety outcome reporting in psychedelic research and implications for science communication.Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy · 2025Article
- Ketamine for the treatment of major depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2023Article
- The Montreal model: an integrative biomedical-psychedelic approach to ketamine for severe treatment-resistant depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Review
- Acute effects of ketamine on the pregenual anterior cingulate: linking spontaneous activation, functional connectivity, and glutamate metabolism.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2022Article
- Ketamine as a Novel Psychopharmacotherapy for Eating Disorders: Evidence and Future Directions.Brain sciences · 2022Review
- The Effects of Dexmedetomidine on Perioperative Neurocognitive Outcomes After Noncardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2022Article
- Safety, effectiveness and tolerability of sublingual ketamine in depression and anxiety: A retrospective study of off-label, at-home use.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleMajor depressive episodes are severe mood episodes which occur both in major depressive disorder and bipolar I and II disorder. Major depressive episodes are characterized by debilitating symptoms that often persist and interfere with typical daily functioning. Various treatments exist for major depressive episodes; however, most primary pharmacologic treatments may take weeks to months to provide relief from depressive symptoms. Ketamine is a demonstrated treatment for major depressive episodes, as relief from depressive symptoms can occur rapidly following treatment.
objectivesPrior meta-analyses have been conducted to analyze the effectiveness of ketamine for the treatment of major depressive episodes, but at the time of this writing, no meta-analysis had been conducted to observe ketamine treatment efficacy beyond 2 weeks.
methodsThe present meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of ketamine for the treatment of major depressive episodes; observations of depressive episode severity were analyzed at 2, 4, and 6-weeks post-treatment.
resultsThe present meta-analysis observed large effects at 2 weeks (g = -1.28), 4 weeks, (g = -1.28), and 6 weeks (g = -1.36) post-treatment.
conclusionsThe results from the present meta-analysis indicate that ketamine can be an effective pharmacologic intervention for major depressive episodes, with treatment effects lasting up to 6 weeks post-ketamine administration, which has many positive implications for treatment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.