Micro-dose, macro-impact: Leveraging psychedelics in frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background and aims: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing high-levels of physician stress and burnout1. In order to help treat frontline colleagues who were diagnosed with acute stress disorder, we chose a non-psychedelic, ketamine micro-dose treatment strategy for symptom management. Methods: We provided care virtually, and all patients were prescribed sublingual ketamine once daily. Each patient was evaluated using the NIH-PROMIS CAT assessments for stress, depression, anxiety, and PTSD via a remote, HIPAA compliant patient self-reporting platform. Progress was tracked and assessed against a baseline value obtained prior to the start of treatment. Patient progress was evaluated at a 4-6-week interval. Patients did not report any significant side effects to the treatment regimen. Results: 100% (25/25) of patients experienced improved anxiety, 92% (23/25) experienced improved stress, 96% (24/25) experienced improved PTSD, and 91% (20/22) experienced improved depression. Conclusions: While we cannot draw definitive conclusions from the association demonstrated by this data, we believe these results demonstrate that further research into the efficacy of daily, short-term ketamine micro-doses for treatment of acute stress disorder is warranted.