Self-reported HIV and HCV screening rates and serostatus among substance abuse treatment patients.

Substance users are at increased risk for HIV and HCV infection. Still, many substance use treatment programs (SUTP) fail to offer HIV/HCV testing. This secondary analysis of data from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network study CTN-0032, a multi-site randomized trial of rapid HIV testing, examines self-reported HIV/HCV testing patterns and serostatus of 2473 SUTP patients in 12 community-based sites that had not previously offered on-site testing. Results indicate that most respondents screened for the randomized trial tested more than a year prior to intake for HIV (52%) and HCV (38%). Prevalence rates were 3.6 and 30% for HIV and HCV, respectively. The majority of participants that were HIV (52.2%) and HCV-positive (40.5%) reported having been diagnosed within the last 1-5 years. Multivariable logistic regression showed that members of high-risk groups were more likely to have been tested.

Conclusions: This analysis demonstrates the potential for community-based substance use treatment programs to identify substance users at-risk for HIV and HCV infection. Access to high quality care and service attentive to the unique needs of substance users is vital to realizing optimal results in both HIV and HCV, reducing the incidence of late diagnosis, extending life expectancy, improving health outcomes and overall quality of life, and decreasing the use of costly medical services. Bundled HIV/HCV testing and linkage to care issues are recommended for expanding testing in community-based SUTP settings.

Related protocols: CTN-0032