Question: How can you give ketamine? Write down the doses for the various routes.
Question: How can you give ketamine? Write down the doses for the various routes.
Answer: Ketamine can be given by many different routes, the most common are shown in Table 1.
| Route of administration | Dose |
|---|---|
| Intravenous (IV) | 1-2 mg/kg |
| Intramuscular (IM) | 5-10 mg/kg |
| Oral (sedation) | 15 mg/kg (max total dose 500 mg |
Table 1 Routes and doses of ketamine administration
Different doses are required for the different routes. The speed of onset varies depending on the route used for administration:
- Oral is the slowest and the least reliable
- IV is the fastest and the most reliable
Ketamine should not be put in a spinal or epidural as the preservative in the most commonly available formulation is neurotoxic.