This paper analyses data on 2,226 cases of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection detected during the years 1970 to 1987. Of those where information on risk-group was available (1,301), infection among intravenous drug-abusers accounted for the largest proportion (49%). Most became infected during and since an outbreak of hepatitis B and Delta hepatitis which originated in this group in 1980. A comp...

OBJECTIVES To determine (a) the influence of HIV in developing osteoarticular infections in intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs) and (b) the differences between the clinical features of osteoarticular infections in IVDAs and a control group of non-IVDAs. METHODS A comparative study of the clinical features of osteoarticular infections in all HIV positive and HIV negative IVDAs admitted to the dep...

BACKGROUND Fungal endogenous endophthalmitis in a healthy individual without any predisposing factors is very uncommon. It can occur in intravenous drug abusers, where Aspergillus is more frequently isolated as the causative organism. CASE We treated an unusual case of culture-proven endogenous Aspergillus endophthalmitis who was immunocompetent and was not an intravenous drug user. The affec...

BACKGROUND Infective endocarditis is a life threatening complication of intravenous drug abuse, which continues to be a major burden with inadequately characterised long-term outcomes. We reviewed our institutional experience of surgical treatment of infective endocarditis in active intravenous drug abusers with the aim of identifying the determinants long-term outcome of this distinct subgroup...

A 4-month prospective study of intravenous drug abusers attending an accident and emergency department was performed. A total of 92 patients presented with 104 new complaints. Seventy-eight per cent of patients were under 30 years of age and 28% were female. The primary reason for attendance was related to trauma in 30% of attendances, accidental or deliberate overdose in 26% and as a result of...

BACKGROUND Sychotropic agents (alcohol, drugs, and illicit substances) have an important effect on the occurrence or exacerbation of psychological and behavioral derangements such as criminal activity and mental abnormalities. OBJECTIVES The objective was to assess the relationship between psychiatric distress and criminal history among abusers of intravenous drugs, including heroin, benzodia...

Arterial complications from inadvertent arterial puncture in intravenous drug abusers are well recognised. Most reports describe injury to the femoral artery with occasional reports of brachial and radial artery injury. A case of subclavian artery injury is described in this paper, and the pathophysiology and treatment of intraarterial drug injection discussed.