NCT06366334: KSI

Study of IV Ketamine for Emergency Department Treatment of Adolescent Suicidal Ideation

Recruiting now NA Last updated 5 June 2024

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Ketamine Hydrochloride in Suicidal Ideation in 20 participants. Currently enrolling.

Timeline

15 January 2024

Primary endpoint
29 May 2024

28 June 2024

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Phase	NA
Status	Recruiting now
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	quadruple
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	20
Start date	15 January 2024
Primary completion	29 May 2024
Estimated completion	28 June 2024
Sites	1 location across Canada

Drugs / interventions tested

• Ketamine Hydrochloride — full drug profile →
• Normal saline

Conditions studied

• Suicidal Ideation — all drugs for Suicidal Ideation →
• Suicidal Ideas — all drugs for Suicidal Ideas →

Sponsor

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Who can join

Adults 12 to 17, any sex, with Suicidal Ideation or Suicidal Ideas. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Approximately 20% of Canadian adolescents experience thoughts of suicide, or suicidal ideation (SI), and suicide is the second leading cause of death among Canadians aged 15-19 years. The emergency department at CHEO sees approximately four patients per day with SI. Even though this is a medical emergency, there are no fast-acting treatments available.

Ketamine is a medication that is commonly used to safely sedate children who require painful procedures in the emergency department. For nearly ten years, intravenous ketamine has also been shown to rapidly reduce SI in adults. However, ketamine as a treatment for SI has never been studied in adolescents. The primary study objective is to pilot a clinical trial that investigates intravenous ketamine to emergently treat SI in adolescents.

If intravenous ketamine can relieve symptoms of SI for youth, this would have tremendous effects on patients and would dramatically change how physicians treat adolescent mental health emergencies. If ketamine is effective for several weeks, as it is in adults, it will help temporize patients until they receive more long-term psychiatric care. At the system level, it has the potential to reduce emergency visits and lengthy admissions. The investigators feel that the results of this study will be generalizable to pediatric centres across Canada and beyond.

Publications & conference data

3 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Emerging Medications for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Review with Perspective on Mechanisms and Challenges.
   Lucido MJ, Dunlop BW. · · 2025 · cited 7× · PMID 40002494 · DOI 10.3390/brainsci15020161
2. Single dose IV ketamine for adolescent suicidal ideation in the emergency department: a pilot randomized trial.
   Schlegelmilch M, Plint AC, Barrowman N, Gray C, et al · · 2026 · PMID 41937124 · DOI 10.1186/s12888-026-08042-9
3. The renaissance of research on psychedelics in child and adolescent psychopharmacology.
   Crocq MA, Auby P. · · 2026 · PMID 41826990 · DOI 10.1186/s13034-026-01069-6