Official OCEMS site ↗
← Medication guides

Field medications · Adult & pediatric guidance · ALS

Ketamine

OCEMS analgesia for eligible patients age 15 and older; pediatric exclusion is explicit.

OCEMS source summary · Updated 2026-09-16

Check before giving

  • PR-70 excludes pregnancy, ketamine allergy, psychosis history, and GCS below 14.
  • Concurrent alcohol/drug intoxication is a relative contraindication: the source allows consideration only after base contact when intoxication is not significant and the patient is not lethargic or otherwise impaired.

Use in OCEMS

  • PR-70 addresses moderate–severe pain (4–10) when fentanyl is not a safe or appropriate choice. Examples include opioid intolerance/refusal, hypotension, or concern about airway/ventilatory status.
  • This is the analgesia procedure, not a field dissociative-sedation or pediatric ketamine protocol.

Adult / adolescent

Indication / routeDose & limits
IV — preferred when practical0.1 mg/kg slowly over 1–2 minutes, maximum 10 mg. May repeat once after 15 minutes.
IM0.5 mg/kg, maximum 50 mg. May repeat once after 15 minutes.
IN1 mg/kg, maximum 100 mg. The procedure does not list an IN repeat dose.

Pediatric

  • Age younger than 15 is a contraindication in PR-70. No pediatric analgesia dose is supplied by this OCEMS procedure or I-20.
  • Do not extrapolate these doses to a child. Use an authorized pediatric analgesia pathway and base direction.

Pediatric dosing availability

  • PR-70 excludes patients younger than 15. No OCEMS pediatric analgesia dose is provided.
WeightOCEMS pediatric dose
Any weightNo general pediatric dose under the cited source; follow the applicable order / medical direction.

Preparation & reassessment

  • Concentration is determined by the provider agency; confirm route-appropriate stock before drawing up the dose.
  • Record weight, indication, pain before/after, intoxication assessment, response, and ongoing vital signs, SpO₂, consciousness, and cardiac rhythm. Watch for dissociation, tachycardia, or hypertension.