A possible role for ketamine in suicide prevention in emergency and mainstream psychiatry.

Sir,

We read with interest the editorial on a possible role for ketamine in suicide prevention in emergency and mainstream psychiatry.[1] The editorial cited a meta-analysis[2] that included five studies. One of these five studies[3] used a single question from the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale to assess change in suicidal ideation; the rest, in contrast, used a separate suicidal ideation scale. More importantly, this study[3] was retracted in July 2017[4] because it supposedly misrepresented both the protocol-specified doses and the actual-delivered doses of ketamine in the study.

We wonder how much the findings of the meta-analysis[2] would change were the retracted data[3] to be removed; and whether the message in the editorial would be moderated, in consequence.

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Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.