Table 1.

Patient characteristics of 344 hospitalizations among 216 IVDU*

			%
Gender (male/female) (n = 344)			67/33
Participation in opioid maintenance program (information available in n = 270)
In a program = 253			93.7
No program = 17			6.3
		median	(range)
Age (years)	(n = 344)	38	(18–58)
Body mass index (kg/m2)	(n = 212)	20.9	(14–40)
Temperature at admission (°C)	(n = 328)	38.6	(35.3–42)
C-reactive protein at admission (mg/l)	(n = 342)	121.5	(0.7–514)
White blood cell count (× 109/l)	(n = 342)	10.9	(0.1–80.4)
Length of hospital stay (days)	(n = 344)	17	(1–125)

^* seen by an ID during a period of 5 years.

^†Data on opioid substitution program participation, body mass index, temperature, white cell count, and C-reactive protein was not available for all patients.

IVDU = Intravenous drug user.

n = Total number of hospitalizations for which specific data was available. (Total number of hospitalizations in this study = 344.).

ID = Infectious disease specialist