The Management of Upper-Extremity Xylazine-Associated Wounds

Abstract

Purpose

Xylazine has been associated with necrotic soft tissue wounds that have placed a challenging burden on patients who inject drugs in the Philadelphia region’s health care system over the last few years. An analysis of our initial experience is being presented to guide future treatment and directions for future research.

Methods

A retrospective review of 55 patients with patient-reported xylazine use and associated upper-extremity wounds at a single institution was performed. Patient demographics, treatments, and outcomes are presented.

Results

A large percentage of patients with xylazine-associated wounds were homeless (40%), had concomitant psychiatric diagnoses (26%), and had a history of tobacco use (84%). Comorbidities included 5% who were human immunodeficiency virus-positive and 67% who were hepatitis C virus-positive. The median number of hospital admissions per patient for xylazine-associated wounds was 3, with an average of 5.9 (range: 1–44 admissions). The median length of stay per hospital admission was 3 days, with an average of 5.3 days (range: 1–75). Among all included patients, 33 of 55 patients (60%) were treated nonoperatively with local wound care. Of the 22 patients who underwent surgery, there was a surgical complication rate of 59%, primarily related to continued wound issues, infections, and graft failures. The overall rate of patients who left the hospital against medical advice (AMA) was 49%. However, the mortality rate was 0%. Most surgical patients left AMA during their postoperative period hospital stay (64%) and demonstrated continued drug use per review of their hospital records (68%).

Conclusions

Patients presenting with xylazine-associated wounds have a high incidence of homelessness, psychiatric diagnoses, tobacco smoking, hepatitis C virus, and a predilection both toward leaving the hospital AMA and repeated drug use. These variables create inherent challenges to reconstructive surgery, yielding a subsequently high complication rate identified in most surgically managed patients.

Type of study/level of evidence

Therapeutic study IV.