Clinical pattern and prevalence of upper gastrointestinal toxicity in patients abusing ketamine.

Objective: Evaluations of upper gastrointestinal toxicity from ketamine abuse are uncommon. This study investigated the clinical pattern of upper gastrointestinal symptoms in patients inhaling ketamine.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study of 611 consecutive patients who were seeking treatment for ketamine uropathy in a tertiary hospital setting between August 2008 and June 2016, their clinical pattern of upper gastrointestinal symptoms was evaluated and compared with a control population of 804 non-users.