Comparing Ketamine to Other Treatments for Depression

Two recent studies compared ketamine directly to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of depression. One study showed that ECT was slightly more effective, while the other study favored ketamine. The differences between the studies can be attributed to the types of patients enrolled and the quality of ECT delivered. The study that favored ECT included hospitalized inpatients and patients with psychotic depression, which is ECT's preferred treatment population. On the other hand, the study that favored ketamine focused on non-psychotic outpatients with depression. These studies clarify that ketamine works best for non-psychotic outpatients, while ECT is more suitable for hospitalized inpatients and individuals with psychotic depression.