Substance-specific Mortality Risk Stratification Among Adults With Substance Use Disorders During Acute Respiratory Infection: A 3.4-Million-patient N3C Cohort Study

The authors aimed to quantify the 30-day all-cause mortality risk associated with pre-existing substance use disorders (SUDs) during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and to compare this risk across various SUD subtypes. Their findings revealed that individuals with SUDs, particularly alcohol and opioid use disorders, faced significantly higher mortality rates compared to those without SUDs, highlighting the need for incorporating SUD status into risk stratification for respiratory infections in clinical settings. The study suggests that while comorbidity burden influences mortality risk, SUDs serve as important markers of heightened vulnerability.