The view of chronic pain as a symptom of a disease, rather than a disease state itself, has contributed to neglect in treating this condition. Although it is generally acknowledged that patients with chronic pain use significantly more health care services than persons without chronic pain, some estimates suggest that less than one-third of the care provided in these settings is for the primary condition. Sub-anesthetic ketamine has been identified as an effective therapeutic for both acute and chronic pain indications and has been demonstrated to reduce opioid intake following acute pain episodes, and holds promise for chronic pain. Since individuals may respond with significant variability to treatment, specific concerns regarding the monitoring of ketamine administration by healthcare teams (anesthesia, pain specialist, pharmacist) include airway protection, cardiovascular stimulation, and detecting potential interactions of ketamine with concomitantly administered medications.

Ketamine has proven efficacy for acute pain, particularly in the context of major surgical procedures and in individuals with opioid tolerance, and for chronic pain. Among the various chronic pain conditions, CRPS is the best studied, and there is mixed evidence that it may respond better than some other chronic pain conditions.

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