Open AccessKetamine as a potential option in the treatment of short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing
Author(s) -
Arun Kumar Aggarwal
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
national medical journal of india
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.2
H-Index - 41
ISSN - 0970-258X
DOI - 10.4103/0970-258x.275347
Subject(s) - gabapentin , medicine , lamotrigine , ketamine , topiramate , anesthesia , carbamazepine , pregabalin , neuropathic pain , anticonvulsant , epilepsy , alternative medicine , pathology , psychiatry
A number of treatment options have been used over the years in short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) with variable results. The most common preventive treatments include carbamazepine, lamotrigine, indomethacin, gabapentin and topiramate. Ketamine is being increasingly used in the treatment of neuropathic pain. The parentral formulations are generally used as oral preparations have poor bioavailability. Recently, ketamine lozenges have been shown to have sufficiently high bioavailability to support their use as a preventive treatment in a number of conditions causing intractable neuropathic pain. We report a 58-year-old man whose symptoms of SUNCT were not responsive to conventional preventive treatments but responded well to a subcutaneous, sub-anaesthetic ketamine infusion and subsequently, sublingual ketamine lozenges.