Treatment of PE in Intravenous Drug Abusers

Management of pulmonary embolus in intravenous drug addicts is often difficult due to their chaotic lifestyles
Oral anticoagulants are rarely prescribed due to the risk of non-compliance with medication or monitoring
Patients who continue to inject into large veins also present a persistent bleeding risk
Most drug users are managed with low molecular weight heparin, usually for 3 to 6 months
Consideration should be given to co administration of antibiotics given that PE in this group is often associated with sepsis.