One specific formulation of an opioid pill is linked to a three-fold increase in a potentially deadly heart infection among injection drug users, a new London study says.
In a report published Wednesday in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, London researchers take a closer look at the link between endocarditis — a bacterial infection of the heart valves or lining of the heart — and the controlled-release version of hydromorphone, a prescription opioid commonly abused by injection drug users in London.
“It’s quite a radical idea that the medication may be part of the problem,” said Dr. Michael Silverman, lead author and associate scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute, the medical research arm of London’s hospitals.
“Generally we thought, ‘It doesn’t matter what they inject, it’s always bad to inject (drugs).’ It’s true, injecting puts you at risk, but . . . we’re seeing more (endocarditis) than we would expect, not just in London but across North America.”
The study, the latest by London researchers on the link between controlled-release hydromorphone and endocarditis in injection drug users, was completed at Lawson, Western University and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), a non-profit organization that compiles and processes provincial health data.
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