July 2019 to June 2023 Saw Increase in OD Deaths With Ketamine Detected

Ketamine was detected in 0.4 percent of overdose deaths and listed as involved in 0.2 percent during study period

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Nov. 8, 2024 (HealthDay News) — During July 2019 to June 2023, there was an increase in overdose deaths with ketamine detected, according to research published in the Nov. 7 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Alana M. Vivolo-Kantor, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data from the CDC State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System to describe the characteristics of and trends in overdose deaths with ketamine detected or involved from July 2019 to June 2023.

The researchers identified 228,668 drug overdose deaths in 45 jurisdictions during July 2019 to June 2023. Ketamine was detected and was listed as involved in 0.4 and 0.2 percent of overdose deaths, respectively, and was the only substance involved in 0.01 percent of deaths. Most deaths with ketamine detected involved illegally manufactured fentanyls (IMFs), methamphetamine, and cocaine (58.7, 28.8, and 27.2 percent, respectively); 82.4 percent of deaths involved IMFs, methamphetamine, or cocaine. Among the decedents in whom ketamine was detected, 34.8, 71.3, and 73.7 percent were aged 25 to 34 years, were male, and were non-Hispanic Whites, respectively. There was an increase in the number and percentage of deaths with ketamine detected from July 2019 to June 2023, from 0.3 to 0.5 percent; notable increases were seen as early as July to December 2020.

“As polysubstance use and use of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression and in compounded formulations increase, continued monitoring is needed to identify potential changes in the detection and involvement of ketamine in overdose deaths,” the authors write.