RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Major depressive disorder is related to unfavourable outcomes in patients with severe comorbidities. In transplant patients, major depression is associated with worse clinical outcomes. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 55-year-old man with a heart transplant due to heart failure of ischaemic origin. Six months after the transplant he developed depressed mood, anhedonia and suicidal ideation with a score of 20/27 on the PHQ-9 depression screening scale. After receiving mirtazapine 30â¯mg/night for a week and persisting with a high suicide risk, it was decided to administer ketamine infusion for 24â¯h, with which a significant improvement in mood was observed, and the disappearance of suicidal ideation 24â¯h after the infusion. DISCUSSION: Depression in transplant patients is a factor associated with graft loss and post-transplant mortality, in addition to favouring other negative outcomes such as deep vein thrombosis. CONCLUSIONS: Ketamine infusion was shown to be an effective and safe option to treat major depression with suicidal risk in a heart transplant patient.