Drug-linked endogenous endophthalmitis hospitalizations up

(HealthDay)—From 2003 to 2016, there was a considerable increase in drug-related endogenous endophthalmitis hospitalizations in the United States, according to a study published online Nov. 5 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Tahreem A. Mir, M.D., from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues conducted a nationwide, retrospective cross-sectional study using the National Inpatient Sample to report changing trends in epidemiology, risk factors, hospital course, and costs associated with drug use-related endogenous endophthalmitis hospitalizations from 2003 to 2016. Data were included for 56,839 patients with endogenous endophthalmitis hospitalizations.

The researchers found that 13.7 percent of the patients had a history of drug dependence or use. Age was significantly lower for the drug-using population (49.6 versus 57.5 years), and they were more likely to be male (61.8 versus 49.0 percent). Across all four U.S. geographic regions, the incidence of endogenous endophthalmitis associated with drug dependence or use increased from 2003 to 2016, from 0.08 to 0.32 per 100,000 population.

"While these findings do not aid in the management of this condition, they do support the hypothesis that clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for endophthalmitis when evaluating patients with intraocular inflammation in the setting of drug dependence or use," the authors write.

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