Ketamine for Depression and Suicidality: An Interview Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Ketamine Treatment for Depression and Suicidality: An Interview Study of its Effects
IRAS ID
213177
Contact name
Keith Hawton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 30 days
Research summary
Severe and persistent depression is usually disabling and often associated with suicidal thoughts. In many patients with depression there is a poor response to current treatments, so-called treatment-resistant depression (TRD). There is increasing interest in using ketamine in the clinical management of TRD and suicidal ideation.
We will study patients with TRD and suicidal ideation receiving ketamine treatment and ask them about their motivation for treatment, expectations and effects of treatment, thoughts about future treatment and general attitudes regarding treatment with ketamine.
There are two parts to this study:
1) Semi-structured interviews with 10-15 patients receiving ketamine for TRD with suicidal ideation.
2) Longitudinal case-studies with 10-12 new patients, to be interviewed i) before starting treatment, ii) 1-2 weeks into treatment, and iii) 2 months into treatment or when treatment ends, if earlier. Patients will also be asked to keep diaries about their treatment experiences.
In both part 1 and part 2 of the study Ketamine Service clinical notes will be reviewed to access psychiatric history and treatment data.
Participants will be adults recruited through the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Ketamine Service at the Warneford Hospital.
The semi-structured interviews will 30 - 90 minutes and will usually occur at the Warneford Hospital (or via telephone or Skype). All interviews will be audio-recorded to enable subsequent transcription.
Information from the interviews and patients’ diaries will be analysed for significant themes, alongside relevant clinical notes and self-reported symptoms of depression that are routinely collected via email or SMS text messaging by the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Ketamine Service.
We will prepare a final study report, including recommendations for future research and clinical practice. Findings will be disseminated to academic and practitioner audiences via peer-reviewed journal articles and conference presentations.
REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0106
Date of REC Opinion
10 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion