Developing and validating a scoring tool for identifying people who inject drugs at increased risk of hepatitis C virus infection.

ABSTRACT: Objectives To develop and validate a scoring tool based on demographic and injecting risk behaviours to identify those who require additional, non-routine serological screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) by assessing their personal risk. Design Cross-sectional and prospective cohorts. Setting People who inject drugs (PWID) and attended Needle and Syringe Programs (NSP) in Australia during the period from 1998 to 2008. Participants Cross-sectional data included 16 127 PWID who attended NSP in Australia. Prospective data included 215 HCV-negative PWID who were recruited through street-based outreach, methadone clinics in Australia. Primary and secondary outcome measures HCV seroprevalence in the cross-sectional and HCV seroconversions in the prospective data sets. Results Current study

SUBMITTER: Wand H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3253425 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature