One advantage of ketamine and tiletamine-zolazepam?

• A. They have a very short duration of action
• B. They require inhalational agents to be effective
• C. Potent anesthetic drugs that can be administered IM
• D. They provide no analgesia

Answer: (C)

IM administration is the big practical win here. Ketamine and tiletamine-zolazepam are potent anesthetics that can be given by intramuscular injection, which allows rapid induction without needing IV access or inhalational equipment. This makes them especially useful in the hospital for quickly immobilizing fractious or small patients, performing brief procedures, or when you want to avoid IV placement or gas anesthesia. They also provide analgesia (ketamine contributes analgesia, and zolazepam adds sedation and muscle relaxation), which is another important advantage over agents that don’t provide analgesia. They don’t inherently have a very short duration, and they don’t require inhalational agents to be effective, and the idea that they provide no analgesia isn’t correct.