OBJECTIVETo explore the routes and factors associated with HIV new infection of heroin addicts who had been attending the methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program.

METHODSA 1 : 1 nested case-control study was implemented with the cases (new HIV infections) and controls (HIV negative) selected from the treatment cohort of China MMT clients. Questionnaire was developed to collect information on demographic characters, behaviours on drug use, sexual behaviour, daily dosage of methadone intake, adherence to MMT, and psychological problems. Univariate analysis and multivariate condition logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with HIV infection.

RESULTS108 (54 paired) clients on MMT were recruited, with 76 males and 32 females. Among them, 95 were Han Chinese and 13 were minorities, with average time of drug use as 12.1 ± 5.0 years. Among 54 new HIV infections, 33 were infected through sharing needles, 12 were through sexual contact and 9 unidentified. Results from multivariate condition logistic regression indicated that having longer duration of heroin use before on MMT (More than 10 years vs. less than 10 years,OR = 20.9, 95% CI:1.62-269.34, P = 0.02), shared needles in the last 6 months (OR = 276.7, 95%CI:5.65-> 999.99, P < 0.01) were risk factors while better adherence (More than 0.5 vs. less than 0.5,OR = 0.07, 95%CI:0.42-0.87, P = 0.04) and living with families (OR = 0.002, 95% CI:0.001-0.94, P < 0.01) were protective factors.

CONCLUSIONSharing needles was the main route of HIV new infection among those clients that were on MMT. Factors as having received more support from both family and community, improvement of adherence to MMT, reducing the frequency of injection etc., could reduce the risk of HIV infection among those MMT clients.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; HIV Infections ; epidemiology ; Heroin Dependence ; complications ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Matched-Pair Analysis ; Methadone ; therapeutic use ; Middle Aged

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to assess perinatal outcome of pregnancy burdened with maternal addiction in comparison with an unselected population from a European transition country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data on pregnancies complicated by illicit drug abuse (n = 85) managed during a 10-year period (1997-2007) at Split University Hospital were analyzed. Data on the type of drug, course of gestation and labor, and on perinatal outcome were considered. Data on all non-dependence pregnancies recorded during the study period were used as a control group. RESULTS: During the study period, there were 85 dependence-complicated pregnancies (0.2%). Use of heroin alone during pregnancy was recorded in 51 women (50%), methadone alone in 6 (7%), and a combination of heroin and methadone in 9 (11%). Premature delivery was significantly more common in the group of pregnant addicts (21% vs. 6%); 49% of pregnant addicts were carriers of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 14% of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Neonatal abstinence syndrome developed in 61 infants (7%) born to addicted mothers. There were 4 cases (4.6%) of early neonatal death; 7 neonates had 5-minute Apgar score < or = 7 (8%); 29 neonates had low birth weight for age (33%); and 7 neonates had congenital anomalies (8%). The risk of various congenital anomalies was 3-fold in the group of children born to addicted mothers. CONCLUSION: Addiction pregnancies present a small but high-risk group according to perinatal outcome. Appropriate obstetric and neonatal care can reduce the rate of complications in these pregnancies and improve perinatal outcome.
Adult ; Apgar Score ; Birth Weight ; Croatia/epidemiology ; Female ; Heroin/adverse effects ; Heroin Dependence/*complications/drug therapy/epidemiology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant Mortality ; Infant, Newborn ; *Maternal Exposure ; Methadone/adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome/epidemiology ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications/*chemically induced/epidemiology ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology ; *Pregnancy Outcome