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WithdrawnNCT04220125Updated Feb 6, 2023

Preoperative Ketamine and Perioperative Depression

A Phase 4 interventional study of Ketamine Group and Midazolam injection in Depressive Disorder, sponsored by Northwestern University. Withdrawn. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-02-06.

Sponsored by Northwestern University · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was withdrawn
No enrollment
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
0
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

Depressive symptoms, in patients with a life history of major depressive disorder (MDD), are very common in the general population, and are especially so in elderly adults undergoing surgery.Symptoms of depression at the time of surgery is associated with risk for postoperative complications.Attenuating depressive symptoms in patients undergoing surgery is thus a plausible but not adequately tested strategy for improving patient postoperative outcomes. Conventional treatment of depression takes weeks and, therefore, is not always a realistic option, particularly when surgery is urgent. Importantly, there are currently no guidelines for diagnosing and managing MDD in surgical patients. Given its association with complications including perioperative cognitive disorders such as delirium, and over longer periods of time with dementing disorders, the feasibility and efficacy of quick-acting treatments for depressive symptoms in surgical patients are direly needed. This need is particularly acute given the rising number of elderly patients undergoing surgery who are prone to depression and surgical complications.

Aim 1: To assess the feasibility of enrolling patients in a clinical trial where a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg over 40 min) or midazolam (0.045 mg/kg) is given 1 to 3 days before surgery in the preoperative clinic as a strategy to improve depressive symptoms during the perioperative period.

Aim 2: To obtain estimates of the variability in improvements of depressive symptoms (increase from baseline in MADRS score ≥ 2)1 day after surgery for patients given a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg over 40 min) 1 to 3 days before surgery compared with midazolam 0.045 mg/kg.

Aim 3: To assess for the safety and tolerability of administration of a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg over 40 min) given 1 to 3 days before surgery in the preoperative clinic (as an outpatient) by assessment of dysphoric symptoms or other complications including the need for hospitalization.

Hypothesis:

Aim 1: Hypothesis: Patients with preoperative depressive symptoms can be identified before surgery and successfully enrolled in a clinical trial comparing a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine versus midazolam for improving perioperative depressive symptoms.

Aim 2: Hypothesis: Compared with midazolam, a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine given preoperatively leads to an improvement in MADRS score ≥ 2 on day 1 after surgery.

Aim 3: Hypothesis: Compared with midazolam, a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine is not associated with dysphoria or other complications.

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Conditions studied

  • Depressive Disorder

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03

In context

Depressive Disorder

4,845 studies on the registry are indexed under Depressive Disorder; 514 are open to participants now.

Browse Depressive Disorder studies →

Lead sponsor

Northwestern University is the lead sponsor of 1,396 studies on the registry; 199 are open to participants now.

Of its 102 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 73 (72%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Male or female patients age ≥ 65 years
  • Planned lumbar surgery for degenerative disc disease or spinal stenosis involving 2 or more levels
  • A life history of MDD (DSM-5 criteria) and a MADRS score ≥20
  • Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≥ 15
  • MMSE is between15-26
  • Ability to understand English.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • MMSE \< 15
  • History of psychosis
  • Poorly controlled hypertension
  • Pre-existing aneurysmal vascular disorders
  • Cocaine or other illicit drug use.
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Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Care provider)
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Ketamine Group

    Ketamine 0.5 mg/kg over 40 min via intravenous catheter.

    Drug: Ketamine Group

  • Active comparator
    MIdazolam Group

    Midazolam 0.045 mg/kg administered via intravenous catheter.

    Drug: Midazolam injection

Interventions

  • DrugKetamine Group

    Ketamine intravenous administration 0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes.

    Also known as: Ketamine

  • DrugMidazolam injection

    Midazolam intravenous administration 0.045 mg/kg IV over 40 minutes.

    Also known as: Midazolam

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in depressive symptoms in the perioperative period.

    Ketamine administration changes depressive symptoms perioperatively. Measured using Depression will be measured with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale (MADRS) scale. Scale ranges from 0 no depresson- 60 severe depression.

    Time frame: 3 Days before surgery to 30 days after the surgical procedure

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in depressive symptoms 1 day after surgery

    Change in depressive symptoms using MADRS questionnaire measured with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale scale. Scale ranges from 0 no depresson- 60 severe depression.

    Time frame: 24 hours after surgical procedure

  2. Safety analsysis of administration of a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine: CADSS

    To assess for the safety of administration of a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg over 40 min) given 1 to 3 days before surgery in the preoperative clinic (as an outpatient) by assessment of dysphoric symptoms or other complications including the need for hospitalization. The Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale CADSS is a 27 question survey ,19 which are completed by the subject on a scale of 0 -4 likert scale for a possible score 0- good 76 poor and 9 questions completed by the assessor (scored yes or no).

    Time frame: 65 minutes after study drug has been infused.

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Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 6, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04220125
Lead sponsor
Northwestern University
Responsible party
Charles W Hogue (Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Northwestern University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 7, 2020
Start date
Sep 1, 2022
Primary completion
Feb 2, 2023
Completion
Feb 2, 2023
Last update
Feb 6, 2023

Study contacts

Charles Hogue, MD
principal investigator · Northwestern University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is withdrawn, as verified in Feb 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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