Medical disorders in a cohort of New York city drug abusers: much more than HIV disease.

We evaluated the medical histories, drug abuse patterns, sexual behaviors, serological studies for syphilis and hepatitis B infection and other laboratory studies in 1780 patients enrolled in New York City drug treatment clinics in 1987. HIV serology was available for 168 patients. Nearly seventy-five percent had at least one medical disorder and 57% one abnormal laboratory parameter. A history of gonorrhea, hepatitis B infection, pneumonia, and anemia was reported in 28%, 23%, 21%, and 20.7% of the patients, respectively. Fifty-seven percent of 168 patients tested HIV seropositive and 16% of 1,780 patients were tuberculin reaction positive. Given the considerable prevalence of medical disorders, in which early identification and intervention is possible, serious consideration should be given to extend the scope of drug abuse services to include primary medical care services targeted at the medical sequelae of drug abuse, and medical disorders not directly associated with either HIV disease or drug abuse.