Frequency, factors and costs associated with injection site infections: Findings from a national multi-site survey of injecting drug users in England

Table 3 Estimated annual numbers of injecting drug users in England seeking healthcare for injection site infections.

	Proportion of survey respondents	Estimated number of IDUs in England: 140,000 *	Estimated number of IDUs in England: 215,000 **
IDUs reporting abscess/open wound in last year	36%	50,400	77,400
Those IDUs reporting abscess/open wound in last year seeking care:	24%	34,272	52,632
Of these, those that sought care:
other than at an Emergency Department	8%	10,584	16,254
at an Emergency Department, not admitted to hospital	4%	5,211	8,003
at an Emergency Department, & admitted to hospital	13%	18,477	28,375

* Estimated number of injectors of heroin or crack-cocaine only, form a study aiming to estimate the total number of heroin and crack-cocaine users [24].
** Estimated number of injecting drug users (all drugs) obtained from a study using an evidence synthesis method to estimate number of injecting drug users [25].

ISSN: 1471-2334