JIST

Abstract

Suicidal tendencies among healthcare professionals are one of the significant problems. Data on suicide among healthcare professionals are alarmingly increasing globally. India is home to approximately 1 million doctors, the largest globally. Medical Students and trainees often commit suicide. Suicide among healthcare professionals occurs due to improper balancing of personal and professional lives. The methods used for suicide vary from violent methods (hanging, falls) to drug overdose. Due to easy access to controlled drugs, non-medical use leads to addiction, disease, and mental disorders in the impaired healthcare professional. For both recreational and self-harm, commonly used are anaesthetic drugs. Ketamine is one of the easily accessible drugs available for healthcare professionals working in the ICU and CCU. It is increasingly gaining popularity as a recreational drug due to its hallucinatory effects and feelings of disconnect. We present a case of a healthcare worker working in an ICU who deliberately used ketamine for self-harm.