It has been regularly used in veterinary medicine and was extensively used for surgical anaesthesia in the Vietnam War. When used as a recreational drug, it is found both in powder and liquid form, and is often referred to as "Special K" for its hallucinogenic and dissociative effects. Along with other psychotropic drugs, it is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. It is available as a generic medication. Medical uses
Anesthesia
The use of ketamine in anesthesia reflects its characteristics. It is a drug of choice for short-term  procedures when muscle relaxation is not required. The effect of ketamine on the respiratory and circulatory systems is different from that of other anesthetics. It suppresses breathing much less than most other available anesthetics. When used at anesthetic doses, ketamine usually stimulates rather than depresses the circulatory system. Protective airway reflexes are preserved and it is sometimes possible to administer ketamine anesthesia without protective measures to the airways. Psychotomimetic effects limit the acceptance of ketamine; however, lamotrigine and nimodipine decrease psychotomimetic effects and can be counteracted also by benzodiazepines administered or propofol.Ketamine is frequently used in severely injured people and appears to be safe in this group. It has been widely used for emergency surgery in field conditions in war zones, for example, during the Vietnam War. A 2011 clinical practice guideline supports the use of ketamine as a sedative in emergency medicine, including during physically painful procedures. It is the drug of choice for people in traumatic shock who are at risk of hypotension.
More severe illness may require inpatient hospitalization and pharmacologic treatment with benzodiazepines and/or antipsychotic medication, for example: risperidone, though no clinical trials have examined the efficacy of therapy for BPD. Prognosis
It is difficult to firmly establish the prognosis of first episode BD patients with respect to progression to other psychiatric illness or relapse to another psychotic episode. This is due to the fact that high quality follow-up studies of large cohorts of BD patients are unavailable in part because of the uncommon nature of the illness and non-standardization of diagnostic methods. Investigators attempting to define the prognosis in BD have used data from similar conditions, i.e. acute transient psychotic disorder (ATPD) and brief psychotic disorder (BPD). A meta-analysis involving 11,000 patients estimated the rate of recurrent psychotic episodes in ATPD and BPD patients was 51% at 30 months compared to first episode schizophrenia patients who had an 84% recurrence rate at 36 months. As suggested by the various definitions of BD discussed above, rapid recovery and return to pre-morbid level of function is expected, though quantitative data is lacking. Society
Psychiatric illnesses comparable to the unique French BD can be seen in the cycloid psychosis of German speaking countries and the psychogenic psychosis in Scandinavia. It has been argued that acute and transient psychoses are more common in African and Afro-Caribbean populations and may be attributable to socio-cultural factors. This has led to the term "culture-bound syndrome." It must be stressed that the term BD long predates any such socio-cultural, ethnic, or regional uses.