Meeting the Challenge of Analgesia in a Pregnant Woman With Burn Injury Using Subanesthetic Ketamine: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Abstract Pain management guidelines for burn injury in pregnant women are scarce. Maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in pregnant burn patients have been shown to be higher than that of the general population, especially in severe burns. Early intervention and interdisciplinary treatment are critical to optimize maternal and fetal outcomes. Proper pain management is central to wound treatment, as poor control of pain can contribute to delayed healing, re-epithelialization, as well as persistent neuropathic pain. We present this case of a 34-year-old female patient who suffered an 18% total body surface area burn during the third trimester of pregnancy to demonstrate that ketamine can be considered as an adjunct for procedural and background analgesia during the third trimester, as part of a multimodal strategy in a short-term, monitored setting after a thorough and complete analysis of risks and benefits and careful patient selection.