Efficacy Study of Ketamine for Postoperative Pain in Opioid Dependent Patients

About This Study

Patients who are dependent on opioids often have poor pain relief after major surgery. This study tests the hypothesis that adding intravenous ketamine to a postoperative regimen of intravenous opioids for postoperative pain will improve pain relief in this subset of patients.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• •Ketamine
• •Placebo
• •Hydromorphone PCA

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

* Chronic pain \> 6 months
* Long term use of opioids
* Major surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

* Use of regional anesthetic techniques
* No need for intravenous (IV) patient controlled analgesia (PCA) after surgery

Study Locations (1)