[Characteristics of chronic wounds in substance abuse: A retrospective study of 58 patients]

Drug addiction causes chronic wounds (CW) responsible for severe complications. Very few studies are available on this topic. The aim of our study was to describe the demographic, clinical and etiological characteristics as well as the course of CW in drug addicts.

This was a retrospective and prospective multicenter study including all drug addicts with CW.

We included 58 patients (17 prospectively), 84.5% of whom were male, of median age 43 years, presenting multiple CW as a result of intravenous (78.2%), inhaled (41.1%) and/or snorted (20%) drug abuse. Addiction to opioids (68.4%), cocaine (47.4%) and/or cannabis (40.4%) was ended and/or treated through substitution in 79.3% of patients. CW were fibrinous and necrotic (42.9 to 53.6%), recurrent (54.2%), and in some cases had been present for more than 1 year (61.5%). Intravenous drug addiction was associated with large, fibrinous, ulcers in a setting of venous and lymphatic insufficiency (74%). Only 23% of these wounds involved the upper limbs. Necrotic ulcers associated with clinical arteriopathy were described mainly with inhaled addiction. Abscesses (50%) and erysipelas (29.3%) were the most common cutaneous complications. After 3 months, 50% of CW were improved and 29.2% of patients were lost to follow-up.

Drug abuse-related CW occurred preferentially in young men with history of intravenous abuse. For the most part, CW were seen on the legs and were associated with venous and lymphatic insufficiency, and the resulting major risk for cutaneous infection increased morbidity and mortality in this population in whom medical follow-up is inherently complicated.