Lewer, D;
Hope, VD;
Harris, M;
Kelleher, M;
Jewell, A;
Pritchard, M;
Strang, J;
(2020)
Incidence and treatment costs of severe bacterial infections among people who inject heroin: A cohort study in South London, England.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
, 212
, Article 108057. 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108057.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: People who inject drugs often get bacterial infections. Few longitudinal studies have reported the incidence and treatment costs of these infections. METHODS: For a cohort of 2335 people who inject heroin entering treatment for drug dependence between 2006 and 2017 in London, England, we reported the rates of hospitalisation or death with primary causes of cutaneous abscess, cellulitis, phlebitis, septicaemia, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endocarditis, or necrotising fasciitis. We compared these rates to the general population. We also used NHS reference costs to calculate the cost of admissions. RESULTS: During a median of 8.0 years of follow-up, 24 % of patients (570/2335) had a severe bacterial infection, most commonly presenting with cutaneous abscesses or cellulitis. Bacterial infections accounted for 13 % of all hospital admissions. The rate was 73 per 1000 person-years (95 % CI 69–77); 50 times the general population, and the rate remained high throughout follow-up. The rate of severe bacterial infections for women was 1.50 (95 % CI 1.32–1.69) times the rate for men. The mean cost per admission was £4980, and we estimate that the annual cost of hospital treatment for people who inject heroin in London is £4.5 million. CONCLUSIONS: People who inject heroin have extreme and long-term risk of severe bacterial infections.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Incidence and treatment costs of severe bacterial infections among people who inject heroin: A cohort study in South London, England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108057 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108057 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. under a Creative Commons license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Drug injection, Heroin, Opiates, Bacterial infections |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10097586 |
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