ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2020
Incidence and treatment costs of severe bacterial infections among people who inject heroin: A cohort study in South London, England.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacological Management of Opioid Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis: Prise en charge pharmacologique du trouble de l'usage des opiacés : revue systématique et méta-analyse en réseau.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2026Review
- Hospital-Admitted Injection-Related Infections Among Incarcerated People Who Inject Drugs in Australia: A Retrospective Cohort Study.The Medical journal of Australia · 2026Observational
- Epidermis to endocardium: mapping the association between atopic dermatitis and infective endocarditis.The British journal of cardiology · 2026Article
- Peer research with populations of people who use street tablets in areas over-represented by drug-related harms in the UK: a case study.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Bacterial and fungal infections in persons who inject drugs.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- Prevalence of Injection-Related Bacterial and Fungal Infection Among People Who Inject Drugs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Addressing the Health Needs of People Who Inject Drugs: A Descriptive Analysis of an Inpatient Integrated Care Team Within an Acute Hospital in Scotland.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Water, sanitation and hygiene insecurity predict abscess incidence among people who inject drugs in a binational US-Mexico metropolitan area: A longitudinal cohort study.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Article
- Epidemiology of acute infections in people who inject drugs in Australia.Drug and alcohol review · 2024Review
- Prevalence and incidence of emergency department presentations and hospital separations with injecting-related infections in a longitudinal cohort of people who inject drugs.Epidemiology and infection · 2023Article
- Opioid Injection-Associated Bacterial Infections in England, 2002-2021: A Time Series Analysis of Seasonal Variation and the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023Article
- Article
- Acute injection-related infections requiring hospitalisation among people who inject drugs: Clinical features, microbiology and management.Drug and alcohol review · 2022Review
- Prevalence and factors associated with chronic venous insufficiency, leg ulceration and deep-vein thrombosis among people who inject drugs in London, UK.Drug and alcohol review · 2022Article
- Article
- Linking opioid use disorder treatment from hospital to community.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2021Article
- Recurring Severe Injection-Related Infections in People Who Inject Drugs and the Need for Safe Injection Sites in Madrid, Spain.Open forum infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPeople who inject drugs often get bacterial infections. Few longitudinal studies have reported the incidence and treatment costs of these infections.
methodsFor 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.
resultsDuring 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.
conclusionsPeople who inject heroin have extreme and long-term risk of severe bacterial infections.
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