Virginia Research Day 2021

Medical Resident Research Cl inical

04 Retrospective Assessment of Intravenous Drug Use on Southwest Virginia For Relative Risk Reduction of Proposed Needle Exchange Program

Yelena Kiseleva, DO, PGY-2; Jake Norris, DO, PGY-2; Billy Turner, DO, PGY-3; Brady Dehart, PhD; Madiha Kamal, MD Corresponding author: Yelena.kiseleva@hcahealthcare.com

LewisGale Hospital-Montgomery

The social, economic, and health consequences of intravenous drug abuse cannot be understated and methods of reducing that impact are needed. While the majority of treatment revolves around complete cessation, harm reduction methods are gaining in acceptance. Harm reduction refers to a number of approaches aimed at alleviating or curtailing the damages correlated with various behaviors in high- risk groups or individuals. One such method is the availability of community needle exchange programs, aimed at reducing IV drug use related infections from needle sharing. Our project examined the impacts

of IV drug abuse on a regional healthcare system in Southwest Virginia: including associated infections, length of stay, admission costs, and readmission rates. We found that healthcare costs of patients with substance use disorders (SUD) and IV-drug use related infections were much higher than SUD patients without IV-drug use related infections. Our analyses also indicated a significantly higher likelihood of re-admittance in patients with IV-drug use associated infections compared to SUD patients without corresponding infections. Overall, there is significant evidence to support the assertion that

needle sharing and re-use in IV drug users contribute to additional medical costs. Furthermore, this data indicates that Southwest Virginia may benefit both socially and financially from programs aimed at reducing the re-use of contaminated needles such as needle exchange programs with the byproduct of reducing healthcare costs.

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