Impact of ketamine on opioid use and persistent pain after cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic chemotherapy

Background: Persistent pain and opioid use can be devastating after cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraoperative chemotherapy (HIPEC). Methods: We conducted a retrospective study to investigate the impact of ketamine use on postoperative complications and persistent and chronic pain after CRS-HIPEC. Results: Ketamine reduced perioperative opioid use before and after implementation of recovery after surgery programs. Ketamine did not impact the formation of persistent and chronic pain formation and long-term opioid use. Postoperative complications and postoperative reoperations were independent predictors of persistent pain. Interestingly, the risk of having a complication was increased by 1% for every doubling in opioids used intraoperatively. Conclusion: Ketamine use reduces perioperative opioid consumption in patients undergoing CRS-HIPEC, but it is not associated with improvements in long-term opioid use and chronic pain.