Ketamine abuse: Another side of the miracle drug (A case report)
Bouchra Hallab
Journal of Clinical Case Reports Medical Images and Health Sciences April 21, 2023 DOI: 10.55920/jcrmhs.2023.04.001146 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | 23-year-old male patient with ketamine dependence, depressive symptoms, and history of suicide attempts |
| Dose | 2 grams of ketamine snorted per occasion (twice a week) |
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key findings | The authors report the case of a 23-year-old man with ketamine dependence, depressive symptoms, and three prior suicide attempts, whose substance use began in adolescence and progressed to daily-life impairment. They present ketamine abuse as a public health concern and highlight the co-occurrence of dissociative effects, depression, and suicidality in this patient. |
Abstract
Ketamine is a " dissociative anaesthetic " with fast analgesic and amnesic properties that has been used since more than 40 years. Today, ketamine abuse has become a public health concern. We report the case of a 23-year-old patient who came to the Casablanca Addictology Centre asking for help with ketamine abuse. At the interview the patient presented depressive symptoms and had already made 3 suicide attempts, the last one dating from two months ago. Mr J. started his consumption of psychoactive substances during adolescence (age 14) by experimentation, the first substance was tobacco followed by crack, alcohol and ketamine. The ketamine dependency started one year ago, with 2 grams of ketamine snorted per occasion (twice a week). The reported psychoactive effects of ketamine ranged from dissociation and depersonalisation
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on ketamine, most cited first.