{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T17:10:13Z","timestamp":1772557813003,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"BMJ","funder":[{"name":"Center for Innovation in Pain Care, Dept. of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh","award":["Clinical & Translational Science Institute ID 2590"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Clinical & Translational Science Institute ID 2590"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Reg Anesth Pain Med"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Previous studies provide conflicting evidence for ketamine\u2019s effectiveness in treating chronic pain, in the context of limited real-world evidence to augment clinical trial findings. We conducted a comparative effectiveness study with real-world data to assess the impact of ketamine infusions on pain-related healthcare utilization, to bridge the gap between clinical trials and real-life care.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We identified 118 subjects who received intravenous (IV) ketamine infusions for chronic pain between 2018 and 2022. Using the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s patient outcomes repository for treatment registry, we created a propensity score-matched control cohort of 118 subjects. Real-world data from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center healthcare network was analyzed to compare unexpected pain-related healthcare utilization, including emergency room visits, urgent care visits, and hospital admissions. Utilization was assessed 6 months before and after ketamine infusion and compared with the matched control cohort.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The ketamine cohort demonstrated a decrease in unexpected healthcare utilization 6 months after treatment compared with 6 months prior, while the control cohort showed an increase during the same period. Ketamine treatment was associated with a 45% reduction in pain-related visits compared with the control cohort (p&lt;0.001).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>IV ketamine was more effective than conventional therapy in reducing unexpected pain-related healthcare utilization for over 6 months in patients with chronic pain. Our study highlights the value of using real-world data and comparative effectiveness research to supplement clinical trials and enhance our understanding of the possible effects of outpatient ketamine infusion therapy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/rapm-2025-106975","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T15:40:14Z","timestamp":1772552414000},"page":"rapm-2025-106975","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Impact of ketamine infusions on healthcare utilization and chronic pain: a comparative effectiveness study with insights from real-world data"],"prefix":"10.1136","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0651-1728","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sheri","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Brian","family":"O\u2019Connell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9748-5512","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca Shue","family":"DeSensi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michael J","family":"Lynch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Suzanne","family":"Labriola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6394-6077","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ajay D","family":"Wasan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3802-5946","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Trent","family":"Emerick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026030307400652000_rapm-2025-106975v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.36076\/ppj.2010\/13\/245","article-title":"Multi-day low dose ketamine infusion as adjuvant to oral gabapentin in spinal cord injury related chronic pain: a prospective, randomized, double blind trial","volume":"13","author":"Amr","year":"2010","journal-title":"Pain Physician"},{"key":"2026030307400652000_rapm-2025-106975v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pain.2009.08.015"},{"key":"2026030307400652000_rapm-2025-106975v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pain.2009.06.023"},{"key":"2026030307400652000_rapm-2025-106975v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0304-3959(02)00033-7"},{"key":"2026030307400652000_rapm-2025-106975v1.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.1089\/jpm.2011.0353","article-title":"Ketamine analgesic effect by continuous intravenous infusion in refractory cancer pain: considerations about the clinical research in palliative care","volume":"15","author":"Salas","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Palliat Med"},{"key":"2026030307400652000_rapm-2025-106975v1.6","unstructured":"Orhurhu VJ , Roberts JS , Ly N , et al . 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