{"id":3465,"date":"2023-01-18T13:53:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T02:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/the-ever-increasing-harms-of-continuing-drug-use-the-addiction-crisis-is-causing-a-spike-in-endocarditis-cases-hospitals-are-struggling-to-respond-2\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T12:45:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T01:45:32","slug":"the-ever-increasing-harms-of-continuing-drug-use-the-addiction-crisis-is-causing-a-spike-in-endocarditis-cases-hospitals-are-struggling-to-respond-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/the-ever-increasing-harms-of-continuing-drug-use-the-addiction-crisis-is-causing-a-spike-in-endocarditis-cases-hospitals-are-struggling-to-respond-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ever Increasing Harms of Continuing Drug Use: The addiction crisis is causing a spike in endocarditis cases. Hospitals are struggling to respond"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Lev Facher<\/a> Jan. 17, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"needle\"Increased injection drug use has led to a spike in cases of the life-threatening heart condition endocarditis<\/a>, with cases rapidly accelerating since the onset of Covid-19.<\/i>
The increased case count is one of the lesser-known side effects of the deadly addiction epidemic. But patients with endocarditis, an inflammation of the heart lining caused by infection, require complex, thoughtful care \u2014 care that the U.S. health system is ill-equipped to provide.<\/i>
With drug deaths hovering at an all-time high<\/a> and endocarditis cases among drug users up nearly tenfold in the last decade, physicians, researchers, and health officials have begun to confront the problem with more urgency. In particular, doctors are coming to terms with a basic reality: Their hospitals often have few protocols for treating endocarditis patients who use opioids and the withdrawal they\u2019ll likely experience upon admission.<\/i>
Between 2011 and 2022, the rate of new endocarditis among patients with opioid use disorder increased dramatically, according to new research<\/a> published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and scientists at Case Western Reserve University. Among drug users, most endocarditis infections stem from the use of non-sterile syringes, allowing bacteria to enter the bloodstream and, eventually, the heart.<\/i>
Among people with opioid use disorder, the rate of endocarditis jumped from 4 per million per day to 30 per million per day. The sharpest increase occurred between 2021 and 2022<\/i>
Such care is complicated to begin with. But for patients with addiction, each of those steps adds a new layer of complexity \u2014 in particular, lengthy hospital stays and ensuing withdrawal for patients accustomed to regular opioid use.<\/i>
\u201cYou have someone that has very strong physical dependence to opioids, they go into the hospital, and they go into withdrawal, and that withdrawal can be very, very severe,\u201d Nora Volkow, NIDA\u2019s director and the co-author of the recent study, said in an interview. \u201cThey may leave the hospital against medical advice, because they\u2019re not being treated for the severity of the withdrawal symptoms.\u201d<\/i>
Even when patients\u2019 withdrawal is treated, Volkow said, patients \u201cstay throughout the whole hospitalization as needed \u2014 and then they get released with no linkage to treatment or care.\u201d<\/i>
Keeping patients in the hospital, however, is only half the battle. In cases where patients remain in treatment, many still don\u2019t receive the resources they need, or the expertise their care requires.<\/i>
Even once patients\u2019 infection and heart condition has been addressed, discharging them from the hospital can present unique challenges. Many of those who inject drugs are also experiencing dangerous or unpredictable housing situations, and those whose addictions remain untreated often quickly return to use.<\/i>
For complete article Serious heart inflammation spikes amid injection drug crisis – STAT (statnews.com)<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

(Dalgarno Institute Comment:<\/b> \u201cWalking\u201d into drug use is easier and easier; With Harm Reduction mantras of \u2018personal liberties\u2019 \u2018rights to use in one\u2019s own body \u2013 autonomy\u2019 and \u2018right\u2019 to health care, all with impunity, bludgeoning the surrounding culture into compliance with faux pity declarations, that are all masking this growing anarchy.
So, what is the response to this convoluted, intricate, and intensive care required mess?
To continue to enable, equip, empower and by default completely endorse, ongoing drug use.
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