Nursing care in ketamine infusions for pain control in adults: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: This scoping review will map the available evidence on nursing care provided to adults receiving ketamine infusion for pain management in hospitals and outpatient clinics.

Introduction: The use of intravenous ketamine infusions has increased in various contexts, particularly for pain management as part of a multimodal approach. Although ketamine is associated with a lower risk of hemodynamic disorders and respiratory depression, caution is advised due to its adverse effects. International guidelines on ketamine use in treatments for pain recommend that only a well-trained health care provider monitor patients who receive ketamine infusions. Nursing staff play a frontline role in ketamine administration and their responsibilities include preparation, administration, documentation, evaluation, management of adverse effects, and patient education.

Inclusion criteria: This review will consider available evidence on adults with acute or chronic pain; in hospitals or outpatient clinics; who are receiving nursing care provided before, during, and after intravenous ketamine infusions for pain management.

Methods: This review will follow the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Searches will be conducted in PubMed, Embase, LILACS, Scopus, Science Direct, and CINAHL (EBSCOhost). Gray literature searches will be conducted in OAIster and Social Science Research Network. There will be no restrictions on language or year of publication. Two reviewers will independently screen titles, abstracts, and full-text articles. Any disagreements will be resolved by a third reviewer. The results will be analyzed by frequency counts and presented in tables and figures, in a manner that aligns with the objective of the review.Details of this review project can be found in Open Science Framework: https:osf.io/txmz7.