Small-Town America’s Despair: Infected Substance Users Needing Outpatient Parenteral Therapy and Risk Stratification

Background  An active intravenous substance use disorder is often the primary cause of infectious diseases in this population of users and creates a barrier to successful parenteral antimicrobial management. The dilemma is compounded by dramatically limited resources in small US towns. Methods This retrospective review from January 2014 through July 2016 aimed to develop a risk stratification approach to aid rural healthcare providers in determining who among patients with addictive disorders could safely be discharged for outpatient antimicrobial therapy with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). Results The high-risk group had a greater likelihood of noncompliance with antimicrobial therapy completion, as well as subsequent illicit drug use during that time frame, compared with the moderate- and low-risk groups. The low-risk group and most of the moderate-risk group could be safely discharged into the community with PICC lines. Conclusions Key in the risk stratification proposal was identifying risk behaviors and determining their degree. Such information provides pivotal delineators in developing risk stratification criteria.