Arterial Blood Gases in Mothers and Infants During Ketamine Anesthesia for Vaginal Delivery

Except for reports of unpleasant dreams, doses of less than 2 mg/kg/IV have generally been found safe for the mother and infant and doses above 2mg/kg-IV have been associated with some incidence of neonatal depression.

Abstract

SEVERAL previous studies have reported on the use of ketamine for anesthesia in both vaginal delivery and cesarean section.1–4 Except for reports of unpleasant dreams, doses of less than 2 mg/kg/IV have generally been found safe for the mother and infant.1,3 Doses above 2 mg/kg/IV have been associated with some incidence of neonatal depression.2 Doses of 0.25 to 0.50 mg/kg/IV are now often used for vaginal delivery3.