Comparison of acute antidepressant response of IV Ketamine versus oral Ketaminein treatment resistant depression

Severe depressivedisorder is among most debilitating condition. Conventional pharmacotherapyusually takes usually 4–12 weeks to improve symptoms. Ketamine is an N–methyl-Daspartate receptor antagonist having rapid action on depressive symptoms. The objective of the present study is to compare sub-anaesthetic dose of oral versus intravenous ketamine in the acuteantidepressant response in treatment resistant depression in an open labelstudy design.

Sixty drug-free/naïvepatients of either sex, with severe depression having no previous history ofpsychotic disorder, head injury, organic disorder, cardiac problem, orsubstance abuse will be randomly assigned to either oral or intravenous ketamine.All of them will be allowed to continue existing medications without anychanges in dose. Assessments will be made at baseline, day 3, day 5, day 7, day 9, day 11, day 13 and after 1 monthusing Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Montgomery Asberg Depression RatingScale, BeckDepression Inventory, and Clinical GlobalImpressions (CGI) Scale. The two groups will be compared on various aspects tofind out whether there is any significant difference in the efficacy as well astolerability.