Ketamine Applications in Pain Management
Summary
Ketamine, a nonselective N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, has long been established as a dissociative anaesthetic and analgesic. In recent decades its use has expanded beyond operating theatres to encompass acute, chronic and cancer-related pain. By blocking NMDA receptors, ketamine interrupts central sensitisation pathways that underlie hyperalgesia and allodynia, and exerts anti-inflammatory effects. At sub-anaesthetic doses, ketamine provides effective analgesia while reducing reliance on opioids through opioid-sparing mechanisms. Administration routes including intravenous, oral and intranasal have been explored to improve tolerability and ease of use. Despite its promise, clinical application requires careful dose optimisation to balance analgesic benefits against psychomimetic and cardiovascular side effects. Ongoing research aims to refine patient selection, delineate optimal regimens and integrate ketamine into multimodal pain protocols, addressing global concerns over opioid overuse and treatment-resistant pain.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Ketamine Applications in Pain Management publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in ketamine applications in pain management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
NMDA receptor antagonist: A compound that blocks N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, reducing excitatory neurotransmission involved in pain sensitisation.
Sub-anaesthetic dose: A ketamine dose below that required for surgical anaesthesia, used to achieve analgesia without full dissociation.
Neuropathic pain: Pain arising from damage or disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system, often featuring burning, shooting or electric-shock sensations.
Opioid-sparing effect: Reduction in opioid requirement achieved by using an adjunctive agent, decreasing opioid-related adverse events and tolerance.
References
- Use of Ketamine in Patients with Multifactorial Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Pharmaceuticals (2024).
- Ketamine for pain. F1000Research (2017).
- Ketamine Use for Cancer and Chronic Pain Management. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2021).
- Narrative Review: Low-Dose Ketamine for Pain Management. Journal of Clinical Medicine (2023).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.