113. Understanding the Changes in Infective Endocarditis Admission in Pennsylvania During the Opioid Crisis

BACKGROUND: Nationwide, there has been a rise in cases of infective endocarditis (IE) correlating with the rise of the opioid crisis. Pennsylvania (PA) has the third highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the country, with Allegheny and Philadelphia counties having the highest rates in the country. With this study, we evaluated how IE has changed in the face of the opioid crisis with respect to the population impacted and associated healthcare utilization in PA. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of all adults admitted to an acute care hospital in PA between January 2013 and March 2017 with a diagnosis of IE. Patients were identified through the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) via billing codes. Exposed patients were those with drug use-associated IE (DU-IE); the unexposed group was those with non-DU-IE. We determined the number of admissions and geographical distribution of IE and DU-IE in the state. We then assessed for differences in hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV serostatus, length of stay (LOS), insurance status, total hospital charges, and rates of valve surgery between the two groups. RESULTS: There were 17,224 admissions for IE in PA during the study period, of which 11.2% were DU-IE. In Allegheny and Philadelphia counties, 14.4% and 20.5% were from DU-IE, respectively. DU-IE cases increased from 6% in 2013 to 17% in 2017, P < 0.001. We found several significant differences between the DU-IE and non-DU-IE groups: DU-IE group was younger (median 33 vs. 69 years old, P < 0.001); the LOS was longer in the DU-IE group (10 vs. 7 days, P < 0.001); the percentage of patients leaving Against Medical Advice was higher in DU-IE group (15.7% vs. to 1.1%, P < 0.001); a higher proportion of the DU-IE group were HCV and HIV seropositive (27.1% vs. 3.3% for HCV, 2.4% vs. 0.74% for HIV, P < 0.001). See figures for complete results. CONCLUSION: Pennsylvania had an increase in the number of IE cases over the last 4 years, driven by the opioid crisis, with Philadelphia and Alleghany counties being the most impacted areas. While this study is limited by the use of claims data, it demonstrates the downstream effects of the opioid crisis on the patient population at risk and the healthcare system due to longer and costlier hospital stays. This study supports the need for innovative and integrative care models to support them. [Image: see text] [Image: see text] [Image: see text] [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.