Soft Tissue Infection in Intravenous Drug Users-Current Challenges

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) are the most common infections encountered in community and healthcare settings. There are different risk factors associated with SSTI including trauma, surgery, skin disease, immune defects and injection drug usage. Intravenous drug users (IDU) are frequently susceptible to SSTI due to unsafe injection practices, sharing of needles and low immunity. Intravenous drug usage is most common in young and homeless people globally. Although Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes are the commonest pathogens however there are serious infections caused by rare pathogens such as botulism by Clostridium botulinum and tetanus by Clostridium Tetni. Prompt diagnosis and accurate management at the healthcare level will help in alleviating the symptoms and improve the outcomes. The continuous education and enhancing the implementation of prevention strategies are the responsibilities of local and national government to reduce the harmful drug use. In this review we are addressing the current challenges associated with causative pathogens for SSTI in IDU and their management and preventive strategies.