Emerging and Underrecognized Complications of Illicit Drug Use.

Abstract

Illicit drug use can result in a wide range of medical complications. As the availability, synthesis, and popularity of illicit drugs evolve over time, new syndromes associated with their use may mimic infections. Some of these symptoms are anticipated drug effects, and others are complications of adulterants mixed with drugs or complications from the method of using drugs. Some illicit drugs are associated with rare infections, which are difficult to diagnosis with standard microbiological techniques. The goal of this review is to orient a wide range of clinicians-including general practitioners, emergency medicine providers, and infectious diseases specialists-to complications of illicit drug use that may be underrecognized. Improving awareness of infectious and noninfectious complications of illicit drug can expedite diagnosis and medical treatment of persons who use drugs and facilitate targeted harm reduction counseling to prevent future complications.

• Authors: Alysse G Wurcel, Elisabeth A Merchant, Roger P Clark, David R Stone
• Journal: Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (Clin Infect Dis) Vol. 61 Issue 12 Pg. 1840-9 (Dec 15 2015) ISSN: 1537-6591 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 26270683 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
• Copyright: © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].

Chemical References

• Illicit Drugs

Topics

• Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions (diagnosis, epidemiology, pathology)
• Humans
• Illicit Drugs (adverse effects)
• Substance Abuse, Intravenous (complications)