Increased Awareness Needed for Inpatient Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Drug Use–Associated Infective Endocarditis

Excerpt

The incidence of drug use–associated infective endocarditis (DUA-IE) has increased in the USA, with North Carolina witnessing an extreme 12-fold increase in cases over the past decade.¹ While patients are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality, inpatient IE management primarily focuses on treating the acute infection, leaving the underlying substance use disorder unaddressed.^{1, 2} Utilization of substance abuse resources, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), during inpatient treatment may prevent further abuse; minimize recurrent infections, readmissions, and mortality; and reduce healthcare costs.^{2, 3} Much remains unknown surrounding patient characteristics and resources offered during hospitalization for DUA-IE and the impact of resources on patient outcomes. The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate substance abuse resources offered during inpatient DUA-IE treatment. …