Kathy -

Unfortunately, that's an article re out-patient treatment. However, I assume it's the one he was referring to with Sherrie, where nothing else under his name, remotely relavent and published in the last few months pops up on PubMed. There is, however, the possibility that another article has yet to be indexed.

Regarding in-patient ketamine treatment, the latest article I have is Sigtermans MJ, van Hilten JJ, Bauer MC, Arbous MS, Marinus J, Sarton EY, Dahan A, Ketamine produces effective and long-term pain relief in patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1, Pain 2009 Oct;145(3):304-11. Epub 2009 Jul 14.

Department of Anesthesiology, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands.

Comment in: Pain 2009 Oct;145(3):271-2.

Abstract
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1 (CRPS-1) responds poorly to standard pain treatment. We evaluated if the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist S(+)-ketamine improves pain in CRPS-1 patients. Sixty CRPS-1 patients (48 females) with severe pain participated in a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled parallel-group trial. Patients were given a 4.2-day intravenous infusion of low-dose ketamine (n=30) or placebo (n=30) using an individualized stepwise tailoring of dosage based on effect (pain relief) and side effects (nausea/vomiting/psychomimetic effects). The primary outcome of the study was the pain score (numerical rating score: 0-10) during the 12-week study period. The median (range) disease duration of the patients was 7.4 (0.1-31.9) years. At the end of infusion, the ketamine dose was 22.2+/-2.0 mg/h/70 kg. Pain scores over the 12-week study period in patients receiving ketamine were significantly lower than those in patients receiving placebo (P<0.001). The lowest pain score was at the end of week 1: ketamine 2.68+/-0.51, placebo 5.45+/-0.48. In week 12, significance in pain relief between groups was lost (P=0.07). Treatment did not cause functional improvement. Patients receiving ketamine more often experienced mild to moderate psychomimetic side effects during drug infusion (76% versus 18%, P<0.001). In conclusion, in a population of mostly chronic CRPS-1 patients with severe pain at baseline, a multiple day ketamine infusion resulted in significant pain relief without functional improvement. Treatment with ketamine was safe with psychomimetic side effects that were acceptable to most patients.

PMID: 19604642 [PubMed - in process]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

And while PubMed shows a comment to the article, apparently concurrent with its publication, it didn't come from Dr. Schwartzman:

Borsook D, Ketamine and chronic pain--going the distance, Pain 2009 Oct;145(3):271-2. Epub 2009 Jul 1.

P.A.I.N. Group, Massachusetts General, McLean and Children's Hospitals, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02478, USA. dborsook@partners.harvard.edu

Comment on:

Pain 2009 Oct;145(3):304-11. [No abstract available.]

PMID: 19573988 [PubMed - in process]

Indeed, a PubMed search for "P.A.I.N. Group" reveals a total of 16 articles, none of which are even co-authored by Dr. Schwartzman.

That said, a friend sent me a copy of Sigtermans MJ, et al, Ketamine produces effective and long-term pain relief in patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1, Pain 2009 Oct. just the other day, but it's too large to post here. If anyone wants a copy, just drop me a PM with your email address and it will be on its way.

Mike