Complications Lower With S. aureus Bacteremia in People Who Inject Drugs

Photo Credit: Stas V

Among patients with community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (CA-SAB), people who inject drugs have lower odds of death in the absence of endocarditis and lower odds of readmission within 90 days compared with people who do not inject drugs, according to results published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Colin S. Brown, BSc (Med Sci), MBChB, MSc (Epi), and colleagues analyzed clinical and mortality data on patients hospitalized with CA-SAB. Of 10,045 total cases, the study team observed 1,612 (16.0%) cases in people who inject drugs. In total, 796 patients died within 30 days of CA-SAB admission (7.9%), and 1,189 were readmitted within 90 days (11.8%). Among those without infective endocarditis, the study team found strong evidence for lower odds of mortality in people who inject drugs versus those who do not (adjusted OR [aOR], 0.47; 95% CI, 0.33-0.68; P<0.001). Further, people who inject drugs were less likely to be readmitted within 90 days of CA-SAB (aOR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65-0.95; P=0.011).