ALTERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO SOMATIC PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ANAESTHESIA XX: KETAMINE BY

Subhypnotic doses of ketamine cause a transient decrease in sensitivity to somatic pain. Analgesia can be detected up to 40 minutes after normal (2-3 mg/kg) anaesthetic doses. In contrast to the action of barbiturates, antanalgesia does not occur after ketamine. Ketamine hydrochloride is a parenteral anaesthetic agent which has been claimed to produce pro-found analgesia (Domino, Chodoff and Corssen, 1965). Corssen and Domino (1966) reported that analgesia produced by ketamine was insufficient to protect against visceral pain but was effective against pain involving the extremeties and skeleton; on this basis they suggested the term "somatoanalgesia". Most of the information on ketamine analgesia has been deduced from clinical observations. Pain-ful surgical procedures can be carried out unde