Doctors warn of looming ketamine health crisis

Doctors have raised the alarm over the health threat posed by the drug ketamine as the number of users suffering severe kidney and bladder problems has snowballed.

Since a group of local doctors published a world-first research paper in June linking the use of ketamine to kidney and urinary problems, the number of known cases has jumped from 10 to more than 80.

The problem has prompted government plans to set up a HK$1.8 million health-check programme for young ketamine users.

It has also sparked doctors' calls for a central record system and special treatment programme to be set up to determine the extent of the problem - and fight it.

'We are a bit surprised by the rapid increase of patients in such a short time,' said Tuen Mun Hospital urologist Peggy Chu Sau-kwan, one of the doctors to discover the link.

The initial study found a total of 10 cases of severe ketamine-induced urinary problems between 2000 and May this year, with seven of the cases recorded this year. The number of cases had climbed to 80 by early this month. The number could be even higher, as the cases came from just four hospitals: Tuen Mun, Princess Margaret, United Christian and Northern.

'We don't have a central record system, but we believe some are being treated in other hospitals as well,' Dr Chu said. 'It is a very worrying signal, because some ketamine users may be reluctant to seek help.'

Most of the patients, especially those who have used the drug for a long time, do not respond to conventional medicine. Dr Chu said the later ketamine users kicked the habit and sought medical treatment, the greater the chance of suffering serious problems such as kidney failure that would require dialysis.

Alarm bells

The number of registered ketamine abusers rose 36.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year to

1,184

Security Bureau Narcotics Division