E141: Is Ketamine a Safer RSI Medication in Pre-hospital Transport Environment? Maybe Not!

From the authors of David Olvera, FP-C, and Daniel Davis M.D. The abstract introduction: Rapid sequence intubation (RSI) is associated with several complications that can increase morbidity and mortality. Among RSI agents used to blunt awareness of the procedure and produce amnesia, ketamine is unique in its classification as a dissociative agent rather than a CNS depressant. Thus, ketamine should have a lower risk of peri-RSI hypotension due to the minimal sympatholysis as compared to other agents. The main goal of this analysis was to explore the incidence of hypotension and/or cardiopulmonary arrest in patients receiving ketamine versus other agents during RSI. We hypothesized that ketamine would be associated with a lower risk of hemodynamic complications, particularly after adjusting for co-variables reflecting patient acuity. In addition, we anticipated that an increased prevalence of ketamine use would be associated with a decreasing incidence of peri-RSI hypotension and/or arrest. We couldn’t make this podcast without you. Please rate, and review wherever you download the podcast. Thanks for listening!