Drug-Associated Infective Endocarditis Trends: What's All the Buzz About?
Authors: Alysse G. Wurcel
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Editorials1 January 2019Drug-Associated Infective Endocarditis Trends: What's All the Buzz About?Alysse G. Wurcel, MD, MSAlysse G. Wurcel, MD, MSTufts Medical Center and Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts (A.G.W.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-3026 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In the 1930s, a malaria epidemic broke out in New York City. Around 200 cases occurred, at least 120 of which resulted in death, mostly from cerebral edema (1). All the cases developed in persons who injected heroin. Given the high mortality rate, researchers hypothesized that the malaria outbreak was “almost entirely due to the occurrence of the malignant form of the disease among drug addicts” (1). Rigorous experiments ensued, leading researchers to learn that this disease was in no way different from the malaria cases seen in Africa and that late presentation of infected persons to medical care was ...References1. Most H. Falciparum malaria among drug addicts-epidemiologic studies. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1940;30:403-10. [PMID: 18015207] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Mathew J, Addai T, Anand A, Morrobel A, Maheshwari P, Freels S. Clinical features, site of involvement, bacteriologic findings, and outcome of infective endocarditis in intravenous drug users. Arch Intern Med. 1995;155:1641-8. [PMID: 7618988] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Wurcel AG, Anderson JE, Chui KK, Skinner S, Knox TA, Snydman DR, et al. Increasing infectious endocarditis admissions among young people who inject drugs. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2016;3:ofw157. [PMID: 27800528] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Schranz AJ, Fleischauer A, Chu VH, Wu LT, Rosen DL. Trends in drug use–associated infective endocarditis and heart valve surgery, 2007 to 2017: A study of statewide discharge data. Ann Intern Med. 2019;170:31-40. doi:10.7326/M18-2124 LinkGoogle Scholar5. Wang A, Gaca JG, Chu VH. Management considerations in infective endocarditis: a review. JAMA. 2018;320:72-83. [PMID: 29971402] doi:10.1001/jama.2018.7596 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Marks LR, Munigala S, Warren DK, Liang SY, Schwarz ES, Durkin MJ. Addiction medicine consultations reduce readmission rates for patients with serious infections from opioid use disorder. Clin Infect Dis. 2018. [PMID: 30357363] doi:10.1093/cid/ciy924 Google Scholar7. Trowbridge P, Weinstein ZM, Kerensky T, Roy P, Regan D, Samet JH, et al. Addiction consultation services - Linking hospitalized patients to outpatient addiction treatment. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2017;79:1-5. [PMID: 28673521] doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2017.05.007 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Suzuki J, Johnson J, Montgomery M, Hayden M, Price C. Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy among people who inject drugs: a review of the literature. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2018;5:ofy194. [PMID: 30211247] doi:10.1093/ofid/ofy194 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. DiNubile MJ. Short-course antibiotic therapy for right-sided endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus in injection drug users. Ann Intern Med. 1994;121:873-6. [PMID: 7978701] LinkGoogle Scholar10. Iversen K, Ihlemann N, Gill SU, Madsen T, Elming H, Jensen KT, et al. Partial oral versus intravenous antibiotic treatment of endocarditis. N Engl J Med. 2018. [PMID: 30152252] doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1808312 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts (A.G.W.)Grant Support: By National Institutes of Health grants 1KL2TR002545-01 and 1R25DA037190-01.Disclosures: Author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. Form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M18-3026.Corresponding Author: Alysse G. Wurcel, MD, MS, 136 Harrison Avenue, M and V Building, Room 234, Boston, MA 02111; e-mail, [email protected]org.This article was published at Annals.org on 4 December 2018. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoTrends in Drug Use–Associated Infective Endocarditis and Heart Valve Surgery, 2007 to 2017 Asher J. Schranz , Aaron Fleischauer , Vivian H. Chu , Li-Tzy Wu , and David L. Rosen Annals On Call - Trends in Endocarditis Associated With Injection of Illicit Drugs Robert M. Centor , Ellen Eaton , and Rachael Lee Metrics Cited bySocial and structural determinants of injecting-related bacterial and fungal infections among people who inject drugs: protocol for a mixed studies systematic reviewEpidemiology, Microbiology, and Clinical Outcomes Among Patients With Intravenous Drug Use-Associated Infective Endocarditis in New BrunswickDisparities in United States hospitalizations for serious infections in patients with and without opioid use disorder: A nationwide observational studyReimagining the Cape: Exploring New Metaphors for Emerging Medical ProfessionalsMichael J. Green, MD, MS 1 January 2019Volume 170, Issue 1Page: 68-69KeywordsAntibioticsDrugsEndocarditisHospitalizationsMalariaOpioidsOutpatient clinicsOutpatientsPrevention, policy, and public healthSurgery ePublished: 4 December 2018 Issue Published: 1 January 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...