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. 2017 Jun 28;2017(6):CD003351. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003351.pub3

Mercadante 2000.

Methods Stated to be randomised but procedure not described.
Blinded study: Drugs prepared in identical syringes by a person not involved in the test sessions
Placebo control
Cross‐over
 Study duration:
 30 to 180 minutes
Participants Cancer patients with neuropathic pain unrelieved by morphine
N = 10 per group (cross‐over)
Mean age of patients: 57 years
Interventions Treatment 1:
 Saline (IV)
Treatment 2:
 KET bolus 0.25 mg/kg (IV)
Treatment 3: KET bolus 0.5 mg/kg (IV)
Outcomes Pain intensity
 Adverse effects
Results:
 Low‐dose KET IV + Mo (PO, SC, IV) significantly reduced pain intensity
Notes Washout period ( "at least two days")
Quality/ validity:
 OPVS score: 12
 Oxford score: 3
Information on funding not provided
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Unclear risk Stated to be randomised but procedure not described.
Allocation concealment (selection bias) Unclear risk Not stated
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) 
 All outcomes Unclear risk "The drugs were prepared in identical syringes by a person not involved in the test sessions". Blinding possibly compromised due to adverse effects from ketamine.
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) 
 All outcomes Unclear risk No specific procedure to check for detection bias. Possible bias due to adverse effects from ketamine
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) 
 All outcomes Low risk All participants accounted for
Selective reporting (reporting bias) Low risk No problems detected
Size High risk Fewer than 50 participants in total (cross‐over)