Associations Between Injecting Illicit Drugs into the Femoral Vein & Deep Vein Thrombosis
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS:
Injecting
drug use is a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and people who inject
drugs commonly report injecting into the femoral vein. However, it is unclear
whether the act of inserting a needle into the femoral vein or the
pharmacodynamic properties of the injected drug increases DVT risk. We aimed to
quantify the strength of association between injecting illicit drugs into the
femoral vein and the odds of acquiring ileo-femoral DVT.
DESIGN AND METHODS:
We
used case control methodology. The study took place in Leeds, UK. A total of
313 people who inject drugs (112 'cases' with a diagnosis of DVT from hospital
accident and emergency departments and 201 'controls' with no DVT from needle
exchanges) completed a questionnaire about their drug use and administration
routes.
RESULTS:
The act
of injecting into the femoral vein was strongly associated with DVT (χ2 (1) = 53.453,
P < 0.001), a finding that remained significant after adjusting for the type
of illicit drug injected, age, gender, smoking status and history of clotting
disorder. Independent of the act of femoral vein injecting, after adjusting for
the effects of potential confounders, crack cocaine use was significantly
associated with DVT, whereas amphetamine and heroin use were negatively independently
associated with DVT.
CONCLUSIONS:
The
practice of injecting into the femoral vein in the groin and the practice of
injecting crack cocaine are associated with the odds of acquiring ileo-femoral
DVT.
- 1Spectrum CIC, Wakefield, UK.
- 2University of York, York, UK.
- 3National Addiction Centre, Kings College London, UK.
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