Sercan Karabulut1. 1. Antalya Atatürk State Hospital, Clinic of AMATEM, Antalya, Turkey.
Abstract
Introduction: In this study, it was aimed to screen inpatients in the Antalya Ataturk State Hospital Alcohol and Substance Addiction Treatment Center (AMATEM) Clinic in terms of anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) seropositivity and to compare them in terms of sociodemographic data and clinical characteristics. Method: The files of inpatients in the AMATEM Clinic of Ataturk State Hospital between July 2020 - February 2021 were retrospectively scanned and recorded with a semi-structured data form. The collected data was analysed using the SPSS 26.0 program. Independent sample t-test was used for normally distributed numerical variables, Mann-Whitney U test was used for non-normally distributed numerical variables, and chi-square test was used for categorical variables. To examine the relationship between variables showing significant difference and Anti-HCV positivity, binary logistic regression analysis was used. The limit of statistical significance was accepted as p<0.05 for all analyses. Results: Of the 155 patients included in the study, 57.4% were diagnosed with opiate use disorder, 40% with multiple substance use disorder. The rate of multiple substance use, syringe use, syringe sharing, self-mutilation and tattoo/piercing were significantly higher in anti-HCV positive patients (p=0.02, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.02, p=0.03 respectively). Patients who were positive for anti-HCV had been using substances for a longer time and were hospitalized more frequently, and the Addiction Profile Index substance abuse subscale scores were higher (p<0.001, p=0.001, p=0.01, respectively). Conclusion: The risk of exposure to HCV in patients with substance use disorder is significantly higher than non-substance user population. It is important to perform anti-HCV screening, especially for people who inject drugs to prevent under-diagnosis of the disease. Considering the risk posed by the use and sharing of syringes, it seems necessary to develop preventive and therapeutic approaches meticulously. Copyright:
Introduction: In this study, it was aimed to screen inpatients in the Antalya Ataturk State Hospital Alcohol and Substance Addiction Treatment Center (AMATEM) Clinic in terms of anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) seropositivity and to compare them in terms of sociodemographic data and clinical characteristics. Method: The files of inpatients in the AMATEM Clinic of Ataturk State Hospital between July 2020 - February 2021 were retrospectively scanned and recorded with a semi-structured data form. The collected data was analysed using the SPSS 26.0 program. Independent sample t-test was used for normally distributed numerical variables, Mann-Whitney U test was used for non-normally distributed numerical variables, and chi-square test was used for categorical variables. To examine the relationship between variables showing significant difference and Anti-HCV positivity, binary logistic regression analysis was used. The limit of statistical significance was accepted as p<0.05 for all analyses. Results: Of the 155 patients included in the study, 57.4% were diagnosed with opiate use disorder, 40% with multiple substance use disorder. The rate of multiple substance use, syringe use, syringe sharing, self-mutilation and tattoo/piercing were significantly higher in anti-HCV positive patients (p=0.02, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.02, p=0.03 respectively). Patients who were positive for anti-HCV had been using substances for a longer time and were hospitalized more frequently, and the Addiction Profile Index substance abuse subscale scores were higher (p<0.001, p=0.001, p=0.01, respectively). Conclusion: The risk of exposure to HCV in patients with substance use disorder is significantly higher than non-substance user population. It is important to perform anti-HCV screening, especially for people who inject drugs to prevent under-diagnosis of the disease. Considering the risk posed by the use and sharing of syringes, it seems necessary to develop preventive and therapeutic approaches meticulously. Copyright:
Authors: Louisa Degenhardt; Amy Peacock; Samantha Colledge; Janni Leung; Jason Grebely; Peter Vickerman; Jack Stone; Evan B Cunningham; Adam Trickey; Kostyantyn Dumchev; Michael Lynskey; Paul Griffiths; Richard P Mattick; Matthew Hickman; Sarah Larney Journal: Lancet Glob Health Date: 2017-10-23 Impact factor: 26.763