KONUMA Memorial Institute of Addiction and Mental Health, Hiroshima, Japan.
Department of Gastroenterology, Mazda Hospital, Mazda Motor Corporation, Hiroshima, Japan.
Neuropsychopharmacol Rep. 2023 Dec;43(4):521-531. doi: 10.1002/npr2.12346. Epub 2023 May 16.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among drug users presents an important public health problem; however, little recognition and few approaches to address this issue in Japan. This study was conducted to investigate the current disease status by assessing anti-HCV antibody (Ab) seroprevalence among people who inject drugs (PWIDs) and people who use drugs (PWUDs) in Hiroshima, Japan.
This study was a psychiatric single-site chart review in patients with drug abuse problems in the Hiroshima region. The primary outcome was anti-HCV Ab prevalence among PWIDs who underwent anti-HCV Ab testing. The secondary outcomes included the prevalence of anti-HCV Ab among PWUDs who underwent anti-HCV Ab testing and the proportion of patients who underwent anti-HCV Ab examination.
A total of 222 PWUD patients were enrolled. Among these, 16 patients (7.2%) had records of injection drug use (PWIDs). Eleven (68.8%) of the 16 PWIDs received anti-HCV Ab tests, and 4 (36.4%, 4/11) were anti-HCV Ab-positive. Among 222 PWUDs, 126 (56.8%) patients received anti-HCV Ab tests, and 57 of these patients (45.2%, 57/126) were anti-HCV Ab-positive.
The prevalence of anti-HCV Ab among PWIDs and PWUDs who visited the study site was higher than the general population, which was 2.2% among hospitalized patients between May 2018 and November 2019. Considering the World Health Organization's (WHO) elimination goal and recent advances in HCV treatment, patients with drug abuse experience should be encouraged to take HCV tests and consult hepatologists for further investigations and treatment if they are positive for anti-HCV Ab.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染在吸毒者中是一个重要的公共卫生问题；然而，在日本，人们对这一问题的认识有限，采取的措施也很少。本研究旨在通过评估广岛地区注射吸毒者（PWID）和吸毒者（PWUD）的抗-HCV 抗体（Ab）血清阳性率，了解当前的疾病状况。
这是一项在广岛地区有药物滥用问题的精神科单站点病历回顾研究。主要结局是接受抗-HCV Ab 检测的 PWID 中的抗-HCV Ab 阳性率。次要结局包括接受抗-HCV Ab 检测的 PWUD 中的抗-HCV Ab 阳性率以及接受抗-HCV Ab 检查的患者比例。
共纳入 222 名吸毒者患者。其中，16 名（7.2%）有注射吸毒史（PWID）。16 名 PWID 中有 11 名（68.8%）接受了抗-HCV Ab 检测，其中 4 名（36.4%，4/11）为抗-HCV Ab 阳性。在 222 名 PWUD 中，有 126 名（56.8%）接受了抗-HCV Ab 检测，其中 57 名（45.2%，57/126）为抗-HCV Ab 阳性。
就诊于研究地点的 PWID 和 PWUD 中抗-HCV Ab 的阳性率高于一般人群，2018 年 5 月至 2019 年 11 月住院患者的阳性率为 2.2%。考虑到世界卫生组织（WHO）的消除目标和 HCV 治疗的最新进展，应鼓励有药物滥用史的患者进行 HCV 检测，如果抗-HCV Ab 阳性，应咨询肝病专家进行进一步的检查和治疗。
