Feasibility and Safety of Ketamine for Suicidal Patients in the Emergency Department

Feasibility and Safety of Single Dose Ketamine for Acutely Suicidal Patients in the Emergency Department

There is currently no readily available pharmacologic intervention for suicidal ideation, a true psychiatric emergency, in the Emergency Department (ED). Investigators aim to trial low-dose, intravenous ketamine, a drug with well-established use in treatment-resistant depression, for patients who present to the ED with suicidal ideation.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Depression; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Ketamine

Detailed Description

In this phase one trial, the investigators' objective is to establish the safety and feasibility of the study dose and route of administration, as well as to provide preliminary data on efficacy in reduction of depressive and suicidal symptoms as well as length of stay. Select patients will be given 0.2mg/kg of ketamine IV and observed in the ED for two hours. Vital signs and symptoms will be monitored. Patients will then be transferred to an admitting psychiatric hospital for definitive care as per standard of care. Surveys will be administered at times 0, 2 hours, 24 hours, and 72 hours to assess depressive and suicidal symptoms. ED providers and nursing staff will be asked to complete a short survey assessing ease of use and feasibility for ED administration for this purpose.

Specific aims are as follows:

1. To determine the safety of ketamine as a single IV dose in the ED for acutely suicidal patients.
2. To determine the feasibility of ketamine administration in the ED for the acutely suicidal patient.
3. To determine the impact of ketamine administration on depression and suicidal ideation in the acute phase as measured by the MADRS and C-SSRS.
4. To determine the impact on hospital length of stay calculated from ED arrival until discharge from admitting psychiatric hospital.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 50
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Lucas Lemar; Email: llemar@kumc.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Lindsay Maguire, MD; Phone Number: 913-588-3580; Email: lmaguire@kumc.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Kansas
    • Kansas City, Kansas, United States, 66101
      • Not yet recruiting
      • University of Kansas Strawberry Hill Campus
      • Contact: Tyler Kjorvestad, MD; Email: tkjorvestad@kumc.edu
    • Kansas City, Kansas, United States, 66160
      • Recruiting
      • University of Kansas Medical Center Emergency Department
      • Contact: Lindsay Maguire, MD; Phone Number: 8048144509; Email: lmaguire@kumc.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Acutely Suicidality ("yes" answer to any of items 4 or 5 on C-SSRS "Suicidal Ideation" category)
• Require inpatient stabilization for SI or actions based on clinical observation and interview
• Are accepted for psychiatric stabilization at the University of Kansas Medical Center's Strawberry Hill campus
• Have a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 15
• Age 18-65

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current or past history of psychosis
• Current or recent (past 4 weeks) symptoms of mania/hypomania as defined by Young Mania Rating Scale (YRMS) score of 12 or greater
• History of ketamine use disorder
• History of liver transplant
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding
• Imprisonment or inability to consent
• Positive urine drug screen or serum alcohol level
• Hypertension (SBP > 160 or DBP > 100 before administration of ketamine)
• Hypotension (SBP < 90)
• Presence of acute medical condition requiring admission to medical service
• Allergy, intolerance, or previous adverse reaction to ketamine
• Patient has 8+ lifetime ketamine exposures
• The treating physician determines that the patient is not a good candidate for the study (e.g. medical condition/procedure, medication that would contradindicate ketamine treatment)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Ketamine; All patients will receive the experimental drug.	Drug: Ketamine; Patients will receive 0.2mg/kg of IV ketamine

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events [Safety and Tolerability]	Safety of use of ketamine for SI in the ED, as assessed by number and severity of reported serious adverse outcomes.	2 hours
Provider and Nursing Attitudes toward use of Ketamine for Suicidal Patients in the ED [Feasibility]	A questionnaire will be given to providers and nursing staff to assess [1] perceived safety, [2] provider comfort, [3] perceived efficacy, and [4] perceived feasibility for ED use as rated on a Likert scale from 1-5, with 5 relaying best perceived outcomes.	2 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hospital Length of Stay	Impact of administration of ketamine on overall psychiatric hospital length of stay.	up to 2 weeks
Change in Suicidal Ideation	Change of SI in ED patients after ketamine administration, as measured by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (ideation subscore range 1-5, with higher number indicating increasing suicidal ideation; intensity subscore rating 2-25, with higher number indicating greater severity of suicidal ideation) and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale.	72 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Lindsay Maguire, MD

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 2, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 10, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): October 17, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 15, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 12, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavior; Suicide; Suicidal Ideation; Depression; Organic Chemicals; Hydrocarbons; Cyclohexanes; Cycloparaffins; Hydrocarbons, Alicyclic; Hydrocarbons, Cyclic; Ketamine
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00150830

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No