Demographics and Length of Stay for Osteomyelitis in Opioid Drug Users: A Unique Population with High Healthcare Costs

Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bone. Risk factors include, but are not limited to, diabetes and intravenous drug use. The hypotheses for the primary objectives of this study were that the opioid epidemic would cause a younger population of patients to be seen with osteomyelitis and the treatment for this population has special considerations including longer hospitalization for proper intravenous antibiotics. This retrospective chart review compared 2,150 cases of osteomyelitis in the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA Healthcare) West Florida Division. A sample group of osteomyelitis with diabetes was compared to a group with reported opioid use. The results showed a significantly younger age at which the osteomyelitis was occurring in opioid drug users and a significantly longer hospitalization for the treatment. With the rising costs of healthcare and the continuing growth of drug abuse, the 11.501-year younger age difference (95% confidence interval [9.204, 13.799], <i>p-</i>value <0.001) and 4.992-day longer hospitalization (95% confidence interval [3.053, 6.931], <i>p</i>-value <.001) can raise awareness on an additional impact of drug abuse on healthcare costs.