Clinical and behavior characteristics of individuals who used ketamine

Abstract

This study aims to depict and compare clinical characteristics and risk behavior among groups of individuals using ketamine, polydrugs or smoking cigarette. A total of 185 drug-using participants and 49 smokers participated in this study. A cross-sectional interview was used to collect information on demographics, drug- and sex-related behaviors, HIV serostatus, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), behavioral dispositions. N-back memory test was used to measure short-term memory. Result shows that 10 participants (5.41%) were HIV positive and 14 (7.57%) having LUTS. Individuals with ketamine and polydrugs use have significantly worse drug-related problem than cigarette smokers. Compared to cigarette smokers and ketamine users, individuals with polydrug users scored significantly higher on impulsivity measures. Cigarette smokers performed significantly better than the other two groups on the memory tests. A few patients had been infected with HIV and diagnosed with LUTS. Findings support that memory on short term recalls of patients with ketamine use might be impaired. Study findings warrants the necessarily of further study on influences of using ketamine.

Polydrug Definition and Assessment: The State of the Art

“…Finally, the interest in polydrug use has translated into the use of new forms of assessment beyond self-reports, blood analyses [ 50 ] and urine tests [ 51 ], such as analysing the content of used syringes [ 52 ], the toxicological analysis of post-mortem specimens [ 53 ], hair analysis [ 54 ], evaluation of latent fingerprints [ 55 ], oral fluid analysis [ 56 ], social media data analysis [ 57 ], the literal test analysis of polydrug overdose death (from death certificate data) [ 58 ] and trace residue sampling strategies (analysis of discarded drug packaging samples) [ 59 ].…”

Ketamine plus Alcohol: What We Know and What We Can Expect about This

“…However, ketamine has become popular as a recreational drug, used acutely or in a binge pattern; orally, inhaled, or injected; and alone or associated with alcoholic beverages or stimulants [ 191 ]. Each of these paradigms must be examined to identify potential synergistic points and risks related to this combination [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…Ketamine has been used for non-therapeutic purposes, especially as a “club drug”, being referred to as “Key”, “Special K”, “angel dust”, “K”, or “Kit Kat” [ 11 ]. Ketamine is commonly misused by intranasal route, inhaled, or smoked [ 12 ]. When administered in liquid form, users inject it into the body or mix it in alcoholic drinks for oral route [ 13 ].…”

“…Several and robust preclinical and clinical studies have described the hazardous effects elicited by alcohol consumption, even after long-lasting withdrawal [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. On the other side, ketamine non-medical purpose use has been described in only a few studies in the last decades [ 12 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Unfortunately, studies that have researched the consequences of ethanol plus ketamine concomitant exposure in body systems are scarce.…”