Exploring the Clinical Variables among Drug-Dependent HIV-Positive Patients: Implications for Treatment Strategies
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Date
2022-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wolters Kluwer – Medknow
Abstract
This study explored the profile of HIV positive patients seeking treatment at a tertiary care addiction treatment facility. A retrospective study was done to collet detailed information on clinical characteristics: drug use (type, age of initiation, duration), general medical condition and past treatment history. The study included 138 patients with mean (SD) age 30.2 (8.3) years. Opioid dependence with injecting drug use (IDU) was diagnosed in 97% of the patients. The median age of injecting onset was 24.5 years (IQR 20-31 years). The most frequently injected substances were pheniramine (60.1%) and buprenorphine (59.4%). Past treatment seeking was reported by 57% patients and interestingly they were less likely to present any medical condition (2 =69.611, p < 0.001). Variability in the age of onset of drug use indicates the need for broad based approach to prevent IDU and motivation to seek treatment may lead to better health conditions.
Description
Keywords
High?risk sexual behaviors, human immunodeficiency virus, injecting drug use, substance use disorder, treatment seeking
Citation
Quraishi Rizwana, Sarkar Siddharth, Parmar Arpit, Jain Raka, Das Bimal Kumar, Ambekar Atul. Exploring the Clinical Variables among Drug-Dependent HIV-Positive Patients: Implications for Treatment Strategies. Indian Journal of Public Health. 2022 Sept; 66(3): 331-333