Amputation Rates on the Rise for Opioid-, Non-Opioid-Related Hospitalizations

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By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com

via HealthDay

MONDAY, May 11, 2026 -- Among opioid-related and non-opioid-related hospitalizations, amputation rates increased from 2016 to 2022, with greater increases seen among opioid-related hospitalizations nationally, according to a research letter published online May 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

George Karandinos, M.D., Ph.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues estimated national and regional changes in amputation rates among opioid-related hospitalizations in a repeated cross-sectional analysis of the National Inpatient Sample. Crude amputation rates were calculated per 10,000 hospitalizations, and these rates were plotted by year for opioid-related and non-opioid-related hospitalizations.

The researchers found that from 2016 to 2022, there were 41,010,691 hospitalizations of persons aged 18 years or older, 3.0 percent of which were opioid-related. For both opioid-related and non-opioid-related hospitalizations, crude amputation rates increased nationally and across all census regions, with steeper apparent increases among opioid-related hospitalizations. At the national level, crude amputation rates increased from 55.6 to 92.3 per 10,000 opioid-related hospitalizations and from 58.9 to 79.7 per 10,000 non-opioid-related hospitalizations. A difference-in-differences analysis showed greater increases in amputation rates among opioid-related versus non-opioid-related hospitalizations at the national level, in the Northeast and West census regions, and in the New England and Pacific census divisions (13.2, 18.4, 19.1, 22.9, and 21.5, respectively). Higher anatomical amputation levels were more common in opioid- versus non-opioid-related hospitalizations.

"Contamination of street opioids with xylazine -- an α2-agonist with no approved human use that is associated with especially severe wounds -- may be contributing to this increase in areas where it is especially prevalent, such as the Northeast," the authors write.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-05-12 09:38

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