Although right-sided IE accounts for only 9% of IE cases among non IDUs, in IDUs it accounts for over three-quarters of IE cases¹.  

Several potential mechanisms have been posited to explain susceptibility of TV to infection in IDUs, including endothelial damage due to repeated inoculation of small bacterial loads, specific substances (eg talc) injected with drugs,  cocaine-induced vasospasm and thrombus formation, and drug-induced pulmonary hypertension associated with increased pressure gradients and turbulence.  In addition, facilitation of bacterial adhesion due to the deposition of immune complexes (eg antibody vs antigens in injected drugs) on the TV and coating of the injected particulate matter with bacterial adherence matrix molecules on valve surfaces may also play an important role^1,2.

Add to these potential factors a higher risk nasal and cutaneous colonization with Staphylococcus aureus (a common cause of IE) among IDUs, and we have a perfect storm!

References

1. Frontera JA, Gradon JD. Right-sided endocarditis in injection drug users: review of proposed mechanisms of pathogenesis. Clin Infect Dis 2000;30:374-9.
2. Chahood J, Yakan AS, Saad H, et al. Right-sided infective endocarditis and pulmonary infiltrates: An update. Cardiol Rev 2016;24:230-37.