BACKGROUND Infective endocarditis (IE) in intravenous drug users has been increasing in incidence. The major pathogen used to be methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, but resistant isolates have also been increasing. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of IE in intravenous drug users and to evaluate the molecular patterns of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRS...

BACKGROUND Right-sided endocarditis occurs predominantly in intravenous drug users, patients with pacemakers or central venous lines and with congenital heart diseases. The vast majority of cases involve the tricuspid valve. CASE PRESENTATION A case of a 31-year-old woman with intravenous drug abuse who had a right-sided vegetation attached to the muscular bundle of the right ventricle is pre...

conclusions the present study revealed different degrees of malnutrition among drug addicts with multiple deficiencies in both macro- and micronutrients. results the mean age, body weight, height, and bmi were 34.4 ± 9.7 years, 63.1 ± 10.1 kg, 171.1 ± 11.6 cm, and 21.8 ± 4.4 kg/m², respectively. according to the percentile status of the bmis, the results showed that 35.2%, 20.4%, 37%, and 7.4% ...

background the use of metaphors rather than direct suggestions of treatment can help to weaken defense mechanisms against any functional changes and so cause an increase in the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. conclusions since imt can repeatedly neutralize patients’ defenses without aggravating their anxiety, and as the therapy can help patients via the development of a new awarenes...

background hepatitis e virus (hev) infection is a self-limited hepatitis and the most common cause of acute adult hepatitis in asia. young adults and middle-aged populations are more likely to be infected than other age groups. objectives the aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of anti-hev among injection drug users (idus) compared to non-idus. patients and methods this was a ...

conclusions despite implementation of community-level harm reduction strategies in iran, infectious complications due to illicit drug use are frequent and often require care at the hospital. introducing harm reductions services at an inpatient level may improve the quality of care provided and help reduce the burden of accrue from drug use. background infectious complications among injection dr...

OBJECTIVE To establish a progression on drug use and its intervening factors among crack users. METHODS A qualitative methodology was applied for an in-depth investigation, taking into consideration the interviewees' viewpoint of the problem. Long interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire were conducted. A purposeful sampling was outlined to create a criterion sampling. For theoretical...

Intravenous drug users are at increased risk for developing right-sided infective endocarditis involving the tricuspid and pulmonary valves. Isolated pulmonary valve endocarditis in intravenous drug users is very rare, and these patients often have more complications, such as pulmonary embolism, sepsis, and pneumonia. We report a case with pulmonary valve endocarditis and extensive pulmonary co...

Tricuspid valve infective endocarditis (TVIE) is rare in Japan, though many reports of it in intravenous drug users are found in other countries. We experienced 3 surgical cases of isolated TVIE in 2 nonintravenous drug users and 1 intravenous user, and we presented successful results. The surgical options for TVIE are vegetectomy and valvulectomy, valve repair, and valve replacement, which are...

Intravenous drug users constitute a group at risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Today, no data are available on the molecular epidemiology of HCV in Bulgaria despite the fact that in recent years the incidence of acute hepatitis C infection among Bulgarian intravenous drug users increased sixfold and about 2/3 of them developed a chronic infection. The aim of this study was to determin...