The Epidural and Intrathecal Administration of Ketamine.

An overview of the spinal administration of ketamine is presented. Ketamine acts as a noncompetitive antagonist of the NMDA receptor Ca(++ channel pore. This effect provides interesting possibilities in pain therapy. However, there are still contrasting results that seem to be due to a lack of comparative controlled studies. The presence of systemic and neurotoxic effects presently limits clinical use).