Ketamine is a commonly used intravenous and intramuscular medication for procedural sedation within pediatric emergency medicine. There is limited availability of data on the rate of absorption and use of subcutaneous ketamine administration. We describe the case of a 12-year-old male who was sedated after extravasation and subsequent absorption of ketamine 1 mg/kg from a peripheral intravenous line (PIV). Despite being an unintended route, absorption of subcutaneous ketamine resulted in satisfactory procedural sedation with no complications. Given limited data on subcutaneous ketamine pharmacokinetics, the aim of this case report is to present the observed absorption of subcutaneous ketamine due to extravasation of PIV during a pediatric procedural sedation.
Keywords: emergency medicine; extravasation of diagnostic and therapeutic materials; hypnotics and sedatives; ketamine; pediatrics.
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