Ketamine as conscious sedation for my son

My 13 y/o son suffered a very bad break to his tib/fib, dislocated ankle, and broken growth plate last night. Before I got to the hospital (he currently lives in another street) they set the bones to tide him over before surgery and gave himw ketamine as the conscious sedation. I was not a fan when I did my infusions because I do not like the out of control feeling and I had a bad trip on one of them. I was surprised that they used it with a kid but they said it is less likely to cause respiratory suppression than tradition drugs. Curious what others think. He is resting much better now after surgery to repair everything. Last night was full of a lot of pain that resulted in much crying and screaming. You know it is bad when a 13 y/o boy doesn't mind his mom helping him use the urinal! Today has been a breeze in comparison. Hopefully discharging tomorrow. Appreciate prayers for a smooth recovery!
This was one touch football game that went terribly wrong.

Sorry your son had a bad time. Ketamine is commonly used with children. As someone who often helps with consious sedation I don not have to worry about the respitatory depression when it is used. One thing I hate to have to do is reverse a drug because of the resp status because then the pain can hit like a sledge hammer. Glad to hear he is doing better.

Ouch. Poor kid. I know that hurt like hell. Glad they gave him something. Ketamine works well for what they used it for. Glad the surgery went well for him too.

Sedation of any kind makes the room go all spinny.

Hi KEI,

I'm so sorry to hear about your son! Ouch! As for the ketamine, my knowledge of it in humans is minimal, however, I am quite familiar with the drug, in that it is very commonly used in veterinary medicine as an anesthetic agent in dogs, cats, and horses. When used in the proper medical setting, it is a very safe drug. However, if perchance something were to go wrong, there is a reversal agent for ketamine, and the hospital undoubtably has some on hand in their emergency drug box. In the ten years that I have worked in the veterinary field, where we use ketamine every day, I have never once had to use/have seen the reversal agent used. I wouldn't worry too much. I know you're just being a worried, protective mother, but the docs know what they are doing!

I hope your son is doing better tonight!

Skeye

I will lock this thread as the original poster is no longer active here at the forum. Roxy has been asked to make a intro post.