Association between Drug Use and In-hospital Outcomes after Infrainguinal Bypass for Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease.

BACKGROUND: Drug abuse may affect lower extremity vessels due to ischemia following intra-arterial injections, vasospasm, arterial and venous pseudoaneurysms, arteriovenous fistulae, vasculitis, and complicated abscesses. Little is known about the outcomes of lower extremity bypass (LEB) for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in patients with a history of drug abuse disorder. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of LEB in this patient population.

METHODS: A retrospective study of the Premier Healthcare Database 2009-2015 was performed. In-hospital complications, mortality, and hospitalization costs were assessed in patients with a history of drug abuse disorder (opioids, cannabis, cocaine, sedatives/hypnotics/anxiolytics, and hallucinogens/methamphetamine/psychoactive drugs) who underwent LEB for PAD. Multivariable logistic and generalized linear models were utilized to study the association between drug use/misuse and in-hospital outcomes after LEB.

RESULTS: Our cohort included 50,976 patients, of which 967 (2%) had a history of drug abuse disorder on admission. The majority of drugs were cannabis (38.5%), followed by opioids (21.5%) and cocaine (14.5%). Patients with a history of drug use/misuse were significantly at a higher risk of developing complications during their hospital stay (71.9% vs. 64.2%, P < 0.001) including acute renal failure (11.8% vs. 9.1%), stroke (1.6% vs. 0.6%), respiratory complications (pneumonia and respiratory failure) (15.0% vs. 9.6%), hemorrhage/shock (36.2% vs. 31.8%), vascular or graft-related complications (29.8% vs. 26.4%), wound complications (9.1% vs. 6.3%), cellulitis (8.5% vs. 6.8%), and sepsis (2.1% vs. 1.2%, all P < 0.001). In addition, drug users were found to have higher risk of concomitant major amputations compared to nondrug users (2.0% vs. 0.9%, P < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, no difference was noted between the 2 groups in terms of in-hospital mortality and concomitant major amputations. However, drug use/misuse was associated with 57% higher odds of overall in-hospital complications (odds ratio [OR] 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34-1.83, P < 0.001), a prolonged length of hospital stay (median: 7 days vs. 5 days in nonabusers, P < 0.001), and higher hospitalization costs compared to nonusers (adjusted mean difference: OR $3,075, 95% CI $2,096-$4,055, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Drug use/misuse is significantly associated with increased odds of in-hospital complications, longer hospital stays, and higher hospitalization costs following LEB. Vascular surgeons need to pay special attention to this patient population and explore interventions to decrease the morbidity and economic burden associated with drug use.