Transplacental Passage of Ketamine After Intravenous Administration

Abstract

This study was designed to measure how fast and at what concentrations ketamine would enter the foeto-placental circulation, when administered intravenously to 10 healthy mothers immediately before forceps delivery, which was indicated by a delayed second stage of labour. It is shown that ketamine very rapidly passes the placenta, and that ketamine levels in cord blood exceed the levels in the maternal venous blood as early as 1 min 37 s after the injection. The ketamine levels in cord blood reach a maximum in the period 1 min 37 s to 2 min 5 s after the injection. Later they show a tendency to decline. A short-lasting, marked elevation of blood pressure was produced by the ketamine anaesthesia. Two of the newborn showed low Apgar scores at 1 min. In one of them this was probably attributable to the anaesthesia.

Altered Behaviour in the Progeny of Rats Exposed to Ketamine, A N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate Receptor Blocker

“…1991). Ketamine passes rapidly through the placenta barrier (Ellingson et al 1977) and the present investigation shows that ketamine also is transferred by milk from ketamine-treated rats to their sucklings. The concentration of ketamine in rat brain have been reported to be similar to the concentration in the blood (Gole et al 1990) and blood concentrations may therefore be used to estimate the extent of NMDA receptor occupancy.…”

Evaluating the Use of Ketamine for Pain Control With Sickle Cell Crisis in Pregnancy

“…Additionally, ketamine crosses the placenta, and it is equally important to consider potential fetal side effects. 12 To date, no human data are available regarding its teratogenicity. In pregnant rodents, ketamine did not increase the incidence of malformations; however, there were histologic changes of unknown significance in the fetal heart, liver, and kidney.…”

Behavioral effects of postnatal ketamine exposure in rhesus macaque infants are dependent on MAOA‐LPR genotype

“…In human and nonhuman primates, the majority of neural development takes place during the prenatal and neonatal period. During prenatal development, ketamine crosses the placenta readily, with cord blood levels higher than the mother in about 1.5 min (Ellingson, Haram, Sagen, & Solheim, ). The mechanistic effects of ketamine on monoaminergic function during the prenatal and early postnatal periods in humans and nonhuman primates remain largely unknown; however, there is some evidence to support the role of ketamine in altering dopamine D2 and serotonin 5HT2 receptors in rodent in vitro studies (Kapur & Seeman, ; Seeman, Ko, & Tallerico, ).…”