1890. Missed Clinical Opportunities to Prevent Infections and Treat Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in People Who Inject Drugs (PWID)

Abstract

BackgroundThe age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths in the United States tripled from 1999 to 2016. Public health surveillance data indicate that an increasing proportion of infections due to bacterial and fungal pathogens is associated with injection drug use (IDU). We describe healthcare encounters (HCEs) of PWID as potential opportunities to prevent infections related to IDU by identifying risks and treating SUD, including with medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder.MethodsAt six hospitals in western New York, we abstracted medical records from hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) visits for PWID (i.e., IDU in the preceding year) who had positive cultures for Staphylococcus aureus (any clinical specimen, April–July 2017), group A Streptococcus (invasive specimens, all of 2017) or Candida spp. (blood specimens, all of 2017). We reviewed hospital admission and ED records for 1 year preceding the positive culture to identify visits during which opportunities to prevent infection and treat SUD by addressing SUD and IDU were missed.ResultsWe identified 99 PWID with positive cultures. The median age was 33 years (range 19–68) and 61 were female. Sixty-nine had a skin and soft-tissue infection, 44 had a bloodstream infection, and 20 had both. Thirty-one PWID left against medical advice during a hospital admission or an ED visit. Seventy-nine PWID were hospitalized, of whom 4 died. Ninety-five used opioids and 71 used cocaine in the preceding year. Seventy-five PWID had an HCE in the 12 months prior to the index visit, with a median of two HCE per person (interquartile range 1–4); 53 of PWID had a previous HCE for infection and 28 for opioid overdose. SUD was documented during a prior HCE at the same hospital for 61 PWID, but only 10 (16%) were offered MAT during any prior HCE and for 24 (39%) there was no documentation that any form of treatment for SUD was offered.ConclusionIn this cohort, PWID frequently had one or more healthcare encounters documented at the same hospital in the year prior to a serious bacterial or fungal infection. These prior HCEs were often for infections or overdose that signaled the need for MAT, demonstrating that there are critical missed opportunities to identify risks, prevent infection, and treat SUD.Disclosures All Authors: No reported Disclosures.