The findings of the panel encompass four broad areas: the indications for the use of ketamine, including the diagnosis of Excited Delirium Syndrome; the patient-side care when using ketamine in the prehospital setting; the education and training of the paramedics using ketamine; and the local and state oversight of EMS care in Colorado. All four areas play a role in ensuring consumer protections and appropriate care delivery by paramedics in the field.
The panel agreed that ketamine is a safe drug if used properly and monitored closely by properly trained and qualified paramedics. However, certain adverse events appear to have arisen primarily from the administration of ketamine and other sedatives to individuals who may not have a medical need for these medications and who could have been managed with a less assertive alternative. Further, other societal and systemic factors at play may have allowed chemical restraints to be disproportionately applied to marginalized populations and communities of color in Colorado and across the nation. Although the panel’s scope of review concerned the administration of ketamine in the prehospital setting, the panel agreed that the issues surrounding ketamine administration in the prehospital setting are not exclusively about the drug ketamine.