Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangzhou, China.
Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, National Clinical Research Center on Mental Disorders & National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Psychiatry Res. 2020 Sep;291:113206. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113206. Epub 2020 Jun 8.
The treatment of ketamine users is substantially challenged by high dropout rates, raising questions regarding contributing factors. A number of studies have highlighted the potential of greater focus on the clinical significance of cognitive impairments in ketamine users. The present study hypothesized that cognitive deficits would play a role in greater risk for treatment dropout in chronic ketamine users.
Our study examined cognitive performance in the form of working memory, verbal memory, visual memory and executive function among chronic ketamine users who completed three-month treatment in residential detoxification centres (N = 165), those who dropped out prematurely (N = 121) and drug-free healthy controls (N = 111). The data collection was completed in Hong Kong among the East Asia population.
Compared to healthy controls, cognitive impairments were found in ketamine users, including in verbal/visual memory and executive function. Executive dysfunction was significantly associated with dropout in ketamine users within three months.
Our findings suggest that executive dysfunction may have clinical benefits in ketamine users admitted to residential treatment programmes.
由于较高的脱落率，氯胺酮使用者的治疗受到了极大的挑战，这引发了对促成因素的质疑。许多研究都强调了更加关注氯胺酮使用者认知障碍的临床意义的重要性。本研究假设认知缺陷会导致慢性氯胺酮使用者治疗脱落的风险增加。
我们的研究通过工作记忆、言语记忆、视觉记忆和执行功能检查，对在住院戒毒中心完成三个月治疗的慢性氯胺酮使用者（N=165）、提前脱落的患者（N=121）和无毒品的健康对照组（N=111）进行了研究。数据采集在东亚人群的香港进行。
与健康对照组相比，氯胺酮使用者存在认知障碍，包括言语/视觉记忆和执行功能障碍。在三个月内，执行功能障碍与氯胺酮使用者的脱落显著相关。
我们的研究结果表明，在接受住院治疗的氯胺酮使用者中，执行功能障碍可能具有临床意义。
