Care Team Member  Role Addiction Medicine – Develop a treatment plan for addiction focused on an individual’s goals. – Start medications for opioid use disorder, such as methadone and buprenorphine Hospital Medicine – A health care clinician who works exclusively in the hospital and is the “quarterback” of the care team. – Coordinates the specialists…

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Evaluation Evaluation for infective endocarditis (IE) requires the following: Treatment Antibiotics are needed for many weeks to treat this type of serious infection, and the medicine may need to be delivered through an IV depending on the type of infection. Some patients may need open-heart surgery to repair or replace the infected heart valve(s).  If…

How does the heart work? The heart is a large muscle that has 4 main sections also known as the “chambers” of the heart. Any of these 4 valves can have bacteria attach to them causing them to become infected (known as infective endocarditis) or damaged. For individuals who inject substances, the tricupsid valve is…

Signs and Symptoms There is not one symptom that tells you with 100% certainty that you have infective endocarditis (heart infection). Usually, it is a combination of symptoms and may include the symptoms listed below. Symptoms can vary from person to person. If you start to feel these symptoms, please seek medical care immediately. When to…

Why does injecting substances increase the risk of Infective Endocarditis (IE)? When you inject substances into your blood, there are two things that can happen which increase your chances of getting a sickness called infective endocarditis: When you inject substances, it can make your heart valves become “stickier”. This can make it easier for the…

What is Infective Endocarditis (IE)? Infective endocarditis is a very serious sickness that can be life-threatening. It happens when bacteria or fungi get into the bloodstream and cause an infection on one or more of the heart’s four valves. It is becoming a big cause of death for people who inject substances. How Infective Endocarditis…