The ROCKet (Reduction Of Chronic Post-surgical Pain with Ketamine) trial is a definitive, large, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of the effect of perioperative intravenous ketamine on the incidence and severity of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP), measured at 3 months and 12 months following abdominal, thoracic or major orthopaedic surgery. The trial is also measuring the treatment effects of ketamine on chronic pain severity and character, associated psychological wellbeing and quality of life, and healthcare utilization costs.
While International Classification of Diseases (ICD) now define CPSP is pain persisting for at least 3 months postoperatively, the longer term trajectory of CPSP is of most importance, as it represents the vast bulk of the burden of disease on quality of life for patients and associated healthcare costs.
We will conduct a 4-5 year follow up of all surviving patients who reported CPSP at 12 months in the ROCKet Trial using the same measurement tools, but also including Medicare data and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) expenditure to estimate healthcare costs.
Irrespective of the primary finding of the ROCKet Trial, this high quality data will assess the true chronicity of CPSP and quantitate its overall human and economic costs, to better inform future risk management and promote investment and innovation in primary prevention and treatment of chronic pain.
Professor Philip Peyton, Austin Health, Melbourne
Dr Ilonka Meyer, Austin Health, Melbourne
Dr Esther Dube, Austin Health, Melbourne
Associate Professor Malcolm Hogg, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne.
The project was awarded $A70,000 funding through the ANZCA research grants program for 2023.