Ketamine-treatment compared with ECT in major depressive disorder - a randomized clinical trial

Ketamine (a well-established anaesthetic and analgesic drug) has in a number of smaller studies been shown to exhibit a rapid antidepressant effect in patients with major depressive disorder. The present study, KetECT, is a randomized clinical trial comparing the efficacy of ketamine and electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) in unipolar depression. Inpatients were treated with ECT or intravenous ketamine (in sub-anaesthetic dose) three times a week for a maximum of four weeks. The study is a national, multi-center study with non-inferiority design. All 194 patients are now included and the one-year follow up after treatment will be completed in 2019. Lead investigators for this national study are Pouya Movahed (principal investigator) and Joakim Ekstrand (Psychiatry, Lund). Mats Lindström has been responsible for the local site in Malmö. The study is supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council.