Ketamine for mental health requires trained professionals, warns new guidance

The anesthetic ketamine is being hailed as a breakthrough therapy for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment-resistant depression and other mood disorders. But the drug does have side effects—some potentially life-threatening—and should only be prescribed and administered by trained health care professionals to ensure the patient’s safety, according to new guidance released by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).