ketamine + dexmedetomidine

Ketamine + dexmedetomidine is a combination of two intravenous agents used primarily for procedural sedation and analgesia. Ketamine is a non-barbiturate dissociative anesthetic that acts as an NMDA receptor antagonist, providing potent analgesia and amnesia with minimal respiratory depression. Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist that provides sedation and some analgesic effects without significant respiratory depression. When combined, these drugs offer synergistic benefits including hemodynamic stability (as the cardiovascular side effects of each agent counterbalance the other), reduced incidence of adverse events such as tachycardia or bradycardia, improved post-procedural recovery profiles, and effective sedation with preserved spontaneous ventilation. This combination has been studied in various settings including procedural sedation for high-risk patients (e.g., those with cardiac dysfunction), intensive care unit sedation (notably in COVID-19 patients requiring non-invasive ventilation), pediatric procedures, dental surgery in medically complex children, MRI imaging in neurocritical care patients unable to cooperate otherwise, and muscle biopsy procedures[1][2][5][6]. The regimen typically involves bolus dosing followed by infusion titrated to effect.

Brand names

KetodexDexketKETA-DEX

Other names

dexmedetomidine + ketamineDEX–KET