A new study out of UNC shows that the number of hospitalizations and surgeries to treat drug-related infective endocarditis have skyrocketed over the past decade.
Endocarditis is an infection of the heart valves that generally affects those over the age of 50, but it can also be caused by opioid use. Advanced cases can require open-heart surgery and heart valve replacement.
Author of the recent study and fellow in the UNC Division of Infectious Diseases Asher Schranz calls endocarditis a complicated and severe infection.
“The typical national length of stay for hospitalization in the country is about four to five days,” says Schranz. “For people with drug related endocarditis, the median length of stay is 11 days. For people who require heart valve surgery to treat their endocarditis, the median length of stay is about four weeks.”
Treatment and hospital stay for endocarditis can cause patients to accumulate over $250,000 in charges, Schranz says, which is especially overwhelming for a patient base that can often be uninsured.
“This is posing a large burden to healthcare systems in the state, and that means both individual hospitals as well as state insurance payers, primarily Medicaid,” says Schranz.
According to the study, 73 percent of patients with drug-associated infective endocarditis are uninsured or on Medicaid, which means the cost of treatment and hospitalization are absorbed by hospitals and government budgets.
Schranz believes the best way to deal with the problem is to treat the root of the issue: addiction.
“There are hurdles to addressing the underlying addiction,” says Schranz. “This is due to numerous reasons, including the fact that a lot of these patients do not have insurance, many may come from remote or rural areas where there may not be providers that treat addiction nearby them, and a number of other factors.”
More than 280 drug-associated endocarditis valve replacement surgeries have been performed in North Carolina in the past decade.
Related Stories
‹
![]()
On Air Today: Nabarun Dasgupta of UNC's Opioid Data Lab on Addressing National Overdose DeathsUNC epidemiologist and senior scientist Nabarun Dasgupta joins 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell on Friday, May 16.

Orange County Sheriff, UNC Distinguished Professor Both Recipients of Dogwood AwardsTwo Orange County community members earned a distinguished honor from the North Carolina Attorney General on Wednesday. Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood and W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor for the UNC School of Government Jessie Smith are both recipients of Dogwood Awards, as announced by Attorney General Josh Stein’s office. Given each year to honor North Carolinians […]

UNC Women's Sports Programs Win 2024-25 Capital One CupUNC has been named the winner of the 2024-25 Capital One Cup, awarded annually to the most successful women’s athletic program of the season. The winner is determined by accumulating points in a combination of NCAA championship wins and major poll finishes. Four women’s sports programs at UNC – field hockey, soccer, lacrosse and tennis […]

Chansky's Notebook: Growing PainsFormer UNC star Vance Honeycutt signed a $4 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles, but he is struggling in the minor leagues.

Chansky's Notebook: Pro AtmosphereSeven months into the Bill Belichick era at UNC, the Tar Heels are certainly acting like the NFL's "33rd team."

Princeton Review Ranks UNC No. 3 for Best Value Public UniversitiesUNC is ranked as the No. 3 best value public university in the nation – behind only Georgia Tech and the University of Virginia – on the Princeton Review’s annual list. The ranking is an improvement from 2024, when UNC occupied the No. 4 spot. Elsewhere, the Princeton Review ranks UNC as the No. 1 […]

Chansky's Notebook: Storm SeasonsArt Chansky recounts how various storms of years past affected athletic events in the state of North Carolina.

Check Out the Complete Schedule for UNC's 'ACC Network Takeover' July 8The ACC Network will feature 24 hours of Tar Heel highlights from the 2024-25 athletic year Tuesday as part of its annual “ACC Network Takeover.” Programming begins at midnight and lasts through 11:59 p.m. Featured games include the women’s basketball team’s win against No. 10 NC State at Carmichael Arena back in February. Those who […]

‘It’s a Grief Project’: Author Ron Smith Details UNC Basketball History BooksWhen Ron Smith walked into UNC’s Wilson Library, he wasn’t looking for a passion project. He was looking for a distraction.

Chansky's Notebook: Perplexing ParadigmBubba Cunningham's transition and Steve Newmark's hiring at UNC boggles the already perplexing paradigm of Tar Heel sports.
›
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines