The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether it is possible to use intramuscular (IM) ketamine in combination with psychotherapy to treat moderate-to-severe methamphetamine use disorder (MeUD) in publicly insured patients with or at-risk for HIV disease. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Do publicly insured patients find ketamine-assisted psychotherapy feasible and acceptable as a potential treatment for MeUD?
- Is IM ketamine safe and tolerable among patients with MeUD?
Participants will:
- Receive 3 monitored doses of IM ketamine
- Have 3 preparation and 4 integration psychotherapy visits
- Report their daily amounts of methamphetamine used prior to, during, and up to 3 months following the intervention
Pilot Trial of Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapy for Methamphetamine Use Disorder and HIV Risk Reduction
This is a single-arm pilot feasibility trial (N=12) of 3 doses of ketamine hydrochloride (0.50-0.75 mg/kg IM) administered approximately once weekly, in combination with 7 sessions of manualized psychotherapy for publicly insured patients with moderate-to-severe methamphetamine use disorder (MeUD) who have or are at-risk for HIV. Participants will be administered 3 preparatory psychotherapy visits over the 14 days prior to their first ketamine visit, a psychotherapy integration visit within 1-3 days following each ketamine visit, and a final integration visit about 1 week following their last ketamine visit. This 10-visit Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) treatment intervention will last about 5 weeks in duration, and 2 follow-up assessment visits will be conducted at 4 and 12 weeks following KAP.
Participants will receive ketamine 0.50 mg/kg IM during their initial dosing visit, and either ketamine 0.50 mg/kg IM or 0.75 mg/kg IM at each subsequent dosing visit, depending on their toleration of prior dose(s).
Screening data will be reviewed to determine subject eligibility. Subjects who meet all inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion criteria will be entered into the study.
Evaluations will be taken at baseline and each of the study visits.
The total duration of subject participation will be up to 119 days-including 5 weeks (i.e., 35 days) for the KAP intervention with follow-up assessment visits at 4 weeks (i.e., 28 days) and 12 weeks (i.e., 84 days) post-intervention.
The total duration of the study is expected to be 12 months.
