Dataset comprises hospitalization rates for opioid injection-related skin and soft-tissue infections (O-SSTI) correlated with changes in the price and purity of heroin for the years 1993 through 2010, inclusive. Data is derived from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE) databases for 27 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).