ArticleDrug and alcohol review2025
Hospital admission costs of acute injection-related infections among people who inject drugs.
Article in Drug and alcohol review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Intranasal Mucosal Atomiser Devices: A Novel Harm Reduction Intervention.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- Hospital admission costs of acute injection-related infections among people who inject drugs.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThere are limited existing data regarding the financial costs associated with hospitalisation for injection-related infection (IRI) in Australia. We aimed to estimate the cost, from the healthcare funder perspective, of admissions to treat IRI.
methodsWe performed a retrospective audit of 226 admissions with an IRI at the Alfred Hospital (Melbourne, Australia), from January 2017 to April 2019. Eligibility criteria included admission for management of an IRI and current injecting drug use, defined as self-reported injecting drug use within the preceding 6 months, documented in the medical record. We estimated the cost of each hospital admission, using national hospital price weights that accounted for the Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Groups and length of stay.
resultsAmong admissions with IRI, the median (interquartile range; IQR) cost of admissions with uncomplicated skin and soft tissue infection and complicated infection were AU$8416 (IQR $4132-$8611) and AU$31,938 (IQR $14,301-$54,397), respectively. Admissions requiring intensive care or surgery were associated with higher costs. The most expensive infection based on hospital cost was spinal infections (median AU$58,366 [IQR 31,938-$69,001]), despite endocarditis having higher median length of stay (38 days [IQR 18-46] vs. 24 [15-32]). DISCUSSION AND
conclusionsWe demonstrate the costs associated with hospital admissions for IRI, including the substantial increased costs associated with complicated IRI. This highlights the opportunity for cost savings associated with harm minimisation interventions to avoid infections and their sequelae.
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