Intravenous vs intramuscular ketamine for pediatric procedural sedation by emergency medicine specialists: A review

Abstract

Ketamine is a general anesthetic agent widely used for pediatric procedural sedation outside the operating theater by nonanesthesiologists. In a setting where efficacy and safety of the agent are paramount, there are conflicting recommendations in terms of optimal mode of parenteral administration, as well as optimal dosage and need for the coadministration of adjunctive agents to decrease side effects. We investigated existing evidence to determine whether ketamine should be best administered intravenously or intramuscularly. This analysis was made difficult by limited direct comparisons of both modes of parenteral administration and a lack of consistent definitions for key outcomes such as..