In-Hospital Illicit Drug Use and Patient-Directed Discharge: Barriers to Care for Patients With Injection-Related Infections.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hospitalized persons who inject drugs are at a greater risk of adverse hospital outcomes including discharge against medical advice, inpatient illicit drug use, overdose, and death. However, there are limited data on the frequency and outcomes of these events in the United States.

Methods

This retrospective analysis included patients with injection-related infections receiving a protocol for injection drug use (IDU) at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital from 2016 to 2017. In-hospital IDU was suspected or reported drug usage plus confirmatory drug screen, and documented discharges "against medical advice" were deemed patient-directed discharges (PDD). We analyzed the frequency of and associations between in-hospital IDU, PDD, 30-day readmission, and death

SUBMITTER: Eaton EF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7096133 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature