The risks of HCV infection among Brazilian crack cocaine users: incorporating diagnostic test uncertainty.

ABSTRACT: Despite the initiative by WHO and other international organizations to eliminate HCV in the medium term, hepatitis C infection is still a major public health problem. Even non-injecting drugs users who engage in harmful or addictive drug use are at greater risk of acquiring the infection, when compared to the general population. This study evaluate risk factors for HCV infection in users of crack/cocaine in Brazil, using multilevel models that incorporate variations in the sensitivity and specificity of the respective diagnostic tests. The sample included all the participants of a national survey on street crack cocaine users with serologically reactive result in the rapid test for the HCV as well as 4 non-reactive controls, matched by sex, age category, and major geographic region of resi

SUBMITTER: Coutinho C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6346030 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature