Rising Endocarditis and Neurovascular Events Linked to Opioid Epidemic

The dramatic rise in opioid abuse over the past few decades appears to be increasing cases of infective endocarditis as well as various related neurovascular complications, a study shows.

At a single center in Ohio, which has been particularly hard-hit by the opioid epidemic, there was a 630% increase in the incidence of endocarditis associated with IV drug use over a recent 4-and-a-half-year span, according to Shahid Nimjee, MD, PhD (Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus).