According to a recent study carried out by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, injection drug use-associated eye infections have become significantly more common in recent years, with fentanyl use linked to poorer visual outcomes and hospital-based addiction care improving access to treatment.
The research study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Ophthalmology Retina and included data from 62 patients diagnosed with injection drug use-associated endogenous endophthalmitis (IDU-EE), a severe internal eye infection caused by bacteria or fungi entering the bloodstream during injection drug use and spreading to the eye. Moreover, the study data was collected over the period spanning between 2015 and 2021.
Specifically, the researchers evaluated the treatment, clinical outcomes, and access to addiction services among the patients, finding poorer visual outcomes—particularly in those who used fentanyl—and highlighting the important role of ophthalmologists in facilitating addiction care. “In ophthalmology, we don’t just treat the eyes. We think about the whole patient,” said Jared Sokol, an assistant professor and retinal specialist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Ophthalmology, and the study’s lead author in a press release. “When we identify a condition that is related to injection drug use, it’s important that we connect patients with the right resources because these interventions may not only help save their vision but also their lives.”
Specifically, the study found that most patients with IDU-EE had injected heroin or fentanyl, and that hospital admission improved access to addiction treatment services. Patients who injected fentanyl had significantly poorer visual outcomes, with more than fivefold higher odds of severe vision loss at follow-up compared with those who did not use fentanyl. Overall, the incidence of IDU-EE increased compared with an earlier cohort of pa, and patients experienced worse visual outcomes, highlighting the need for multidisciplinary management that includes both ophthalmic and addiction care.
Moreover, it was also found that hospital admission enabled patients to access specialist addiction services, which was associated with higher initiation of medication for opioid use disorder and may improve long-term health outcomes. “Addiction consult service (ACS) involvement is independently associated with improved retention in care, reduced substance use after hospital discharge, and decreased mortality and re-admissions among people who inject drugs,” the researchers wrote. “Although this is a retrospective, observational study, our results offer compelling evidence that ACS involvement in cases of IDU-EE is associated with higher rates of [initiation of medication for opioid use disorder].”
