Cited by 59HIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskStreptococcal Infections and TreatmentsTattoo and Body Piercing Complications

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Prevalence and severity of abscesses and cellulitis, and their associations with other health outcomes, in a community-based study of people who inject drugs in London, UK

Open access

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) are a common but preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among people who inject drugs (PWID). They can be severe, and hospitalisations of PWID with SSTI are rising. The most common SSTI presentations are abscesses and cellulitis. METHODS: We used data from Care & Prevent, a cross-sectional community survey of PWID in London. We reported the lifetime prevalence of SSTI, severity of infections, key risk factors, and associated sequelae. Pictorial questions were used to assess SSTI severity. RESULTS: We recruited 455 PWID. SSTI lifetime prevalence was high: 64% reported an abscess and/or cellulitis. Over one-third (37%) reported a severe infection, 137 (47%) reported hospitalisation. SSTIrisk factors were: aged 35+ years, injecting once or more times a day, subcutaneous or intra-muscular injections, and making four or more attempts to achieve an injection. Those who reported having other health conditions were at higher odds of having an abscess or cellulitis, with risk tending to increase with number of reported conditions. Half (46%) employed self-care for their worst SSTI, and 43% waited for ten or more days before seeking medical care or not seeking medical care at all. CONCLUSIONS: Abscess and cellulitis are very common among PWID in London. We corroborate findings indicating SSTIs are associated with risks, e.g. venous access problems, as well as other co-morbid conditions: septicaemia, endocarditis, DVT, and kidney disease. These co-morbidities may impact SSTIs severity and outcomes. Delayed healthcare seeking potentially exacerbates infection severity, which in turn increases poorer health outcomes and complications.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a cross-sectional community survey of 455 people who inject drugs in London, lifetime prevalence of abscess and/or cellulitis was 64%, with 37% reporting a severe infection and 47% of those with bacterial SSTI reporting SSTI-related hospitalisation. SSTI was associated with older age, frequent injecting, non-venous injecting, repeated injection attempts, equipment reuse, more comorbidities, and delayed healthcare seeking.

Key findings

  • Lifetime abscess and/or cellulitis prevalence was 64% (95% CI 60–68); 37% reported a severe infection, and among those with bacterial SSTI, 137/291 (47%) reported SSTI-related hospitalisation, rising to 79/107 (74%) among those with severe infection.
  • Adjusted odds of lifetime bacterial SSTI were higher for age 35–44 (AOR 2.03, 95% CI 1.11–3.71) and 45+ (AOR 3.68, 2.09–6.50) versus <35; injecting once a day or more (AOR 1.61, 1.05–2.45); subcutaneous injecting (AOR 2.55, 1.49–4.35); intramuscular injecting (AOR 3.10, 1.74–5.52); and four or more attempts to achieve injection (AOR 5.01, 2.75–9.14).
  • Comorbidity showed a graded association: compared with no diagnosed conditions, AORs rose from 2.01 (1.16–3.49) for one condition to 10.02 (2.67–37.57) for five or more; 48% (n=220) reported at least two diagnoses.
  • Care delay was common: 60% (121) waited more than five days to seek medical advice, and 43% of those with severe infections waited 10 or more days or did not seek care; severe bacterial infection was associated with waiting 10+ days (AOR 2.29, 95% CI 1.25–4.20).

Methods

  • Cross-sectional community survey (Care & Prevent) of PWID in London, recruited October 2017–March 2019 through six drug treatment services and a homeless outreach team; 455 participants completed the questionnaire.
  • Eligibility: aged 18+ with a history of injecting psychoactive drugs; data came from a researcher-administered questionnaire using Open Data Kit, with pictorial questions showing mild/moderate/severe abscess and cellulitis to assess SSTI severity.
  • Analysis used descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression adjusted for sex, age, and lifetime street homelessness; all variables were reported across participants’ injecting career unless stated otherwise.

Limitations

  • Stated: the cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal relationships between SSTIs and injecting risk factors or report incidence; self-reported health conditions are susceptible to recall and awareness problems, such as misconstruing urinary tract infection as kidney disease.
  • Stated: the validity of still images for self-reported SSTI severity is unknown; images were chosen with skin infection specialists but were not validated against a gold standard such as clinician evaluation, and clinical diagnosis was not possible.
  • Evident: recruitment was opportunistic through treatment and outreach settings, and although the authors note comparability with the national UAM survey, the sample may not represent PWID outside these service-contact populations.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pone.0235350

Cites

29 of 29 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

Fig 1 From left to right: Mild, moderate, and severe abscess.
Fig 1 From left to right: Mild, moderate, and severe abscess.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 2 From left to right: Mild, moderate, and severe cellulitis.
Fig 2 From left to right: Mild, moderate, and severe cellulitis.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 3 Number of participants reporting lifetime abscess and/or cellulitis by severity, and proportions reporting invasive infections (infections of the blood, bones, joints, heart, and necrotising fasciitis). The box size represents the number of participants with each combination of abscess/cellulitis severity, and the colour and percentage labels represent the proportion reporting invasive infections.
Fig 3 Number of participants reporting lifetime abscess and/or cellulitis by severity, and proportions reporting invasive infections (infections of the blood, bones, joints, heart, and necrotising fasciitis). The box size represents the number of participants with each combination of abscess/cellulitis severity, and the colour and percentage labels represent the proportion reporting invasive infections.CC BY · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

34 Own result · 8 Own interpretation · 7 Own method · 5 Check pending · 1 Sources not found

Verify all 6 references — free account

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  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 7
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 7
13 of 13
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Participants' self-reported lifetime history of SSTI and other health conditions is accurate enough to estimate prevalence and associations.

    “Self-reported health conditions reported are susceptible to problems with recall and awareness of diseases, such as kidney disease, where participants may have been informed of a urinary tract infection but misconstrued this as kidney disease, and/or may not be aware if the disease is acute or chronic, particularly if they are not currently engaging with healthcare services.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The pictorial severity ratings correspond to clinically meaningful severity.

    “The validity of the approach of still based images for self-report of SSTI severity is not known.”
    “The images were chosen in consultation with skin infection specialists, but have not been validated or compared to a gold standard (such as clinician evaluation).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The temporal direction of the association between delayed care seeking and severe SSTI is that delay precedes and contributes to severity.

    “The cross-sectional design meant that we were not able to establish a temporal relationship between bacterial SSTIs and these injecting risk factors, or report incidence.”
    “Given these findings we posit that duration of time in seeking healthcare impacts severity of bacterial SSTI.”
3 of 3

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4 of 4

Citations

Cites

Show all 29 references

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Public Health England, H.P.S., 2016, Public Health Wales, Public Health Agency Northern Ireland, Shooting Up: Infections among people who inject drugs in the UK, 2015
  2. V. Hope, 2010, Neglected infections, real harms: A global scoping of injection-related bacterial infections and responses, The global state of harm reduction, 89
  3. Cooperation, S, 2017, Stata 15
  4. N.H. Service, 2018, Health A-Z -Cellulitis
  5. N.H. Service, 2019, Health A-Z—Abscess

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Metadata

Authors
Wright, T., Hope, V., Ciccarone, D., Lewer, D., Scott, J., & Harris, M.
Affiliations
  • London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
  • Liverpool John Moores University (GB)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
  • University College London (GB)
  • University of Bath (GB)
Corresponding author
Harris, Magdalena
Venue
PLOS ONE
Published
2020-07-14
Volume
15
Issue
7
Pages
e0235350
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3043433611
Cited by
59
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 2
FWCI
4.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Liverpool John Moores University (acceptedVersion)
  • LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Explore Bristol Research (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute for Health Research (CDF-2016-09-014)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Streptococcal Infections and Treatments
  • Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Tattoo and Body Piercing Complications
Keywords
people who inject drugs, skin and soft tissue infections, abscess, cellulitis, infection prevalence, infection severity, hospitalization, risk factors, delayed care seeking, self-care, comorbidities, septicemia, endocarditis, deep vein thrombosis, kidney disease, London
MeSH terms
Abscess, Adult, Cellulitis, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, London, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Risk Factors, Skin Diseases, Infectious, Substance Abuse, Intravenous, Prevalence, Outcome Assessment, Health Care, Sepsis

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