Ketamine Pharmacology

In Part 2 of my series on opioids, I cover hydromorphone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone. Hydromorphone and oxycodone are two opioids that are used frequently in clinical practice, and I will discuss what makes them unique, in addition to numerous other practice pearls and test prep ...  Show more

On part 1 of opioids, I’ll discuss morphine, morphine equivalents, conversion, and hydrocodone. The pharmacokinetic differences will be important between opioids, as well as the dosage forms. I hope you enjoy this podcast episode and share it with your friends! Be sure to check o ...  Show more

Contributor: Travis Barlock MD

Educational Pearls:

Ketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist with a wide variety of uses in the emergency department. To dose ketamine remember the numbers 0.3, 1, and 3 ...

For years, ketamine has been thought of mostly as a horse tranquilizer — or a street drug that puts you in a scary-sounding K-hole. But now, we’re hearing reports that it could be almost a miracle medicine, treating stubborn depression and other mental illnesses. So how good is i ...  Show more

Show notes at pharmacyjoe.com/episode1026. In this episode, I’ll discuss hallucinations from low-dose ketamine use in the ICU. 

In this episode, I explain how ketamine causes rewiring of brain circuits and dissociative states to relieve symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I explain how ketamine impacts both the brain’s glutamate and its endogenous opioid pathways, which toget ...  Show more