In a 3-month prospective study, intravenous drug abusers represented 1.14% of all new attendances at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. They generated a significant workload and were often difficult to identify. A very high proportion required surgery or other invasive procedures. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients were often unexpected. The risks to staff and other implicat...

Talc has been known to cause lung disease, via inhalation or intravenously. A good history along with radiological correlation will often reveal the diagnosis. However, most intravenous drug abusers are reluctant to give a history of exposure, and most diagnoses are made after lung biopsy. We present a case of acute respiratory failure that posed a diagnostic challenge and was diagnosed only af...

Heroin abusers are frequently found to have abnormal liver function tests and hepatic histology. Hepatitis viruses A, B, and NANB, other drugs or drug contaminants and excessive alcohol consumption are factors thought to contribute. One hundred and sixteen heroin abusers attending a London treatment centre were studied. Sixty two (53%) had a raised aspartate transaminase. This was not explained...

The role of family background as well as behavioural and psychological factors as risk factors for intravenous drug abuse was analysed in a longitudinal study of 8168 Swedish men conscripted for military service in 1969-70. Information about risk factors was obtained from a survey of all Swedish conscripts. Records on intravenous drug abuse, during a followup ending in 1986, were obtained from ...

In this article we discuss a network sampling design that can be applied in drug abuse research at the community level. At this level often some partial sampling frame such as the register of a drug aid agency is available. This partial sampling frame can be used as the start of a network sample. Each selected registered drug abuser mentions his relationships with other drug abusers, and from t...

BACKGROUND Intravenous drug abuse is often associated with poor adherence to anti-retroviral drugs in HIV/AIDS. Very few studies in Pakistan have determined implications of intravenous drug abuse on anti-retroviral drug compliance in HIV/AIDS patients. The objectives of the study were to assess and compare the adherence to anti-retroviral drugs in intravenous drug users (IDUs) and non-intraveno...

Intravenous drug injection has been reported as the main risk factor for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence and the epidemiological profile of HCV infection among abusers of illegal injected and non-injected drugs in Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, Central Brazil. A cross-sectional study including 314 male drug users from eight detoxific...

OBJECTIVE Malnutrition in drug abusers has been attributed to poor diet. However, previous studies are conflicting. Many studies have not considered possible concurrent HIV disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between drug abuse and dietary intake in Hispanic Americans with and without HIV infection. DESIGN Dietary intake was measured using 3-day food records a...