Effect of Repeated Intravenous Esketamine on Adolescents With Major Depressive Disorder and Suicidal Ideation: A Randomized Active-Placebo-Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective: Suicide is a major cause of death in adolescents with limited treatment options. Ketamine and its enantiomers have shown rapid anti-suicidal effects in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD), but their efficacy in adolescents is unknown. We conducted an active, placebo-controlled trial to determine the safety and efficacy of intravenous esketamine in this population.

Method: A total of 54 adolescents (aged 13-18 years) with MDD and suicidal ideation were included from an inpatient setting and randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 3 infusions of esketamine (0.25 mg/kg) or midazolam (0.02mg/kg) over 5 days, with routine inpatient care and treatment. Changes from baseline to 24 hours after the final infusion (day 6) in the scores of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Ideation and Intensity (primary outcome) and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS, key secondary outcome) were analyzed using linear mixed models. In addition, the 4-week clinical treatment response was a key secondary outcome.

Results: The mean changes in C-SSRS Ideation and Intensity scores from baseline to day 6 were significantly greater in the esketamine group than in the midazolam group (Ideation, -2.6 [SD = 2.0] vs -1.7 [SD = 2.2], p = .007; Intensity, -10.6 [SD = 8.4] vs -5.0 [SD = 7.4], p = .002), and the changes in MADRS scores from baseline to day 6 were significantly greater in the esketamine group than in the midazolam group (-15.3 [SD = 11.2] vs -8.8 [SD = 9.4], p = .004). The rates of antisuicidal and antidepressant responses at 4 weeks posttreatment were 69.2% and 61.5% after esketamine, and were 52.5% and 52.5% after midazolam, respectively. The most common adverse events in the esketamine group were nausea, dissociation, dry mouth, sedation, headache, and dizziness.

Conclusion: These preliminary findings indicate that 3-dose intravenous esketamine, added to routine inpatient care and treatment, was an effective and well-tolerated therapy for treating adolescents with MDD and suicidal ideation.

Clinical trial registration information: A study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Esketamine combined with oral antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation; http://www.chictr.org.cn; ChiCTR2000041232.

Diversity & inclusion statement: We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way. The author list of this paper includes contributors from the location and/or community where the research was conducted who participated in the data collection, design, analysis, and/or interpretation of the work. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group.

Keywords: adolescence; esketamine; major depressive disorder; suicidal ideation.