Background: Over the past decade, the prevalence of injection drug use and drug-related harms has increased significantly in Québec. Our study aims to characterize the economic and epidemiological burdens of medical complications of unregulated drug use, including injection-related infections (IRI), drug-related poisoning, and encephalopathy among people who inject drugs (PWID).
Methods: We utilized Québec administrative health data from April 2014 to March 2019 to describe the direct healthcare costs and the number of episodes of the medical complications of unregulated drug use during each fiscal year (FY). We computed outpatient, emergency department, inpatient, and medication costs and presented them in 2022 Canadian dollars.
Results: The total direct healthcare cost of IRI, drug-related poisoning, and encephalopathy between FY 2014-2015 and FY 2018-2019 was $82,765,226, with costs increasing over time for all three complications. During the same period, the number of episodes increased from 1,300 to 5,595 for IRI, 695 to 1,030 for drug-related poisoning, and 85 to 350 for encephalopathy. Similarly, the number of unique patients who experienced medical complications increased from 860 to 3630 for IRI, 665 to 930 for drug-related poisoning, and 60 to 195 for encephalopathy. The costs and number of episodes were highest in Montréal, Montérégie, and Capitale-Nationale (Québec City) regions.
Conclusion: The economic and clinical burden of medical complications of unregulated drug use among PWID in Québec is increasing. Public health interventions and dedication of resources are crucial to mitigating healthcare costs and improving health outcomes for people who inject drugs.
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