Our request
We ask CDC to add a ketamine-specific row to the preliminary 2025 SUDORS dashboard when the relevant data are available for release. Please identify the preliminary nature of the figures, the reporting period, geographic coverage, and any known limitations.
We also ask CDC to publish, for each year in the dashboard series, how many eligible deaths were specifically tested for ketamine. Please distinguish tested positive, tested negative, not tested, and unknown or unreported testing status where the underlying records support those categories.
Please provide definitions and denominators with the dashboard so readers can distinguish a change in detections from a change in testing coverage.
Why it matters
Counts of ketamine findings alone do not show how many deaths underwent ketamine testing.
Reporting testing coverage alongside detections would allow analysts and readers to assess an important source of uncertainty. It would not, by itself, determine why detections changed.
What good reporting looks like
- Preserve the distinction between preliminary and final figures, with a visible revision history.
- Use consistent year-to-year definitions where possible and flag changes in coverage or methodology.
- Do not convert unknown testing status into an assumed negative.