Cutaneous Complications of Intravenous Drug Abuse

Conclusions

The skin is the tissue most evidently affected by intravenous drug addiction. Indirect skin manifestations caused by injection abuse cannot be reported in detail in this review. They would include those related to blood-borne pathogens such as HIV, viral hepatitis and other pathogens; cutaneous stigmata of drug-induced coma; and various traumatic injuries: those related to psychological troubles (suicide scars), social deficiency, alcohol, violence and accidents.^[128] The spectrum of cutaneous manifestations is increasing as much as the number of drugs available for abuse increases. It is important to develop and evaluate drug substitution and educational programmes in order to reduce these complications.

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I thank my colleagues from the departments of infectious diseases of the Hôpital L'Archet, Nice and the Hôpital Bonnet Frejus, France, for referring the patients and for helpful discussions, mainly Evelyne Bernard, Evelyne Counillon, Pierre Dellamonica, Jacques Durant, Bertrand Marion, Véronique Mondain, Pierre Marie Roger, Frédéric Vandenbos and Thierry Tartarin for reviewing the English.

The British Journal of Dermatology. 2004;150(1) © 2004  Blackwell Publishing