Rural-Urban Differences in Hospitalizations for Opioid Use-Associated Infective Endocarditis in the United States, 2003-2016.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2020
Keywords
rural health, MRHRC, hospitalization, opioid use, harm reduction, substance use
Publication Title
Open Forum Infect Dis
Abstract
Background: The incidence of infective endocarditis, a serious heart infection that can result from injection drug use, has increased in step with the opioid epidemic. Harm reduction services aimed at decreasing infectious complications of injection drug use are limited in rural areas; however, it is unknown whether the burden of opioid use-associated infective endocarditis varies between rural and urban populations.
Methods: We used 2003-2016 National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample data and joinpoint regression to compare trends in hospitalization for opioid use-associated infective endocarditis between rural and urban populations.
Results: Rates of US hospitalizations for opioid use-associated infective endocarditis increased from 0.28 to 3.86 per 100
Conclusions: The increase in US hospitalizations for opioid use-associated infective endocarditis over the past decade supports the importance of public health efforts to reduce injection-related infections in both urban and rural areas. Future studies should examine factors affecting the higher increase in rate of these hospitalizations in rural areas.
Funding Organization
National Institutes of Health
Recommended Citation
Nenninger, E. K., Carwile, J. L., Ahrens, K. A., Armstrong, B., & Thakarar, K. (2020). Rural–urban differences in hospitalizations for opioid use–associated infective endocarditis in the United States, 2003–2016. Open Forum Infectious Diseases,7(2). doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa045
Comments
Correspondence: Kinna Thakarar, DO, MPH, Maine Medical Center, 22 Bramhall Street, Portland, ME 04102. (kthakarar@mmc.org)