Ketamine
Timeline
[ Back To Timeline ]
| 1987-2000 |
| 12 Deaths related to Ketamine (7 in the U.S., and 5 in Europe). Only 3 of these deaths were Ketamine alone. [More Info] |
| From the "Report on the risk assessment of ketamine in the framework of the joint action on new synthetic drugs", published in 2002 by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs
and Drug Addiction.
A total of 12 deaths in which ketamine was identified were noted between 1987 and 2000, including seven from the United States. Only three reported fatal cases involving ketamine alone were identified. Two reports concern mixed drugs fatalities. In one case, ketamine had only a minor role. For the remaining six cases, insufficient details were available to be evaluated properly. In the three cases involving only ketamine, the routes of administration were intramuscular or intravenous and the cause of death was mainly overdose (multiple intramuscular doses or accidental intravenous overdose), in line with preclinical findings. In the other cases involving ketamine mixed with other drugs, the observed lower ketamine concentrations indicate that drug interaction may have contributed to these deaths. Substances with CNS/respiratory depressant effects, like ethanol, opioids, barbiturates and benzodiazepines, or drugs with cardiostimulant effects, like cocaine or amphetamines, may increase ketamine acute toxicity. |
| References Report on the Risk Assessment of Ketamine in the Framework of the Join Action on New Synthetic Drugs, by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. |
[ Back To Timeline ]