A systematic review of ketamine for complex regional pain syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims to examine the available literature and to synthesize published data concerning the treatment of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) with ketamine.

METHODS: The search was conducted utilizing the databases Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials. All relevant articles were systematically reviewed.

RESULTS: The search yielded 262 articles, 45 of which met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Of those included, 6 were reviews, 5 were randomized placebo-controlled trials, 13 were observational studies, and 21 were case reports.

CONCLUSION: There is no high quality evidence available evaluating the efficacy of ketamine for CRPS and all manuscripts examined in this review were of moderate to low quality. Therefore, we conclude there is currently only weak evidence supporting the efficacy of ketamine for CRPS, yet there is clearly a rationale for definitive study.