Exploration of the unmet health care needs of people who inject drugs.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Access to adequate health care in the United States is often hindered by an individual's location, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle. Among those underserved are people who inject drugs (PWID), who are affected by stigma and discrimination. The purpose of this study was to describe the utilization of preventative health care services obtained by PWID. METHODS: A survey querying participants about their utilization of preventative health care services and health education over the past year was administered to PWID at 2 syringe access programs. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. CONCLUSION: Of the 141 participants surveyed, 60.6% saw a provider within the past year and 62.1% indicated that their provider was aware of their drug use. Data analysis revealed that providers counseled PWID on three of nine drug-related harm reduction items. Only 30% of PWID talked with their provider about five or more items. Mean number of items discussed was significantly different between PWID whose provider was aware of their drug use and PWID whose provider was unaware of drug use (t = 10.7, p < 0.001). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Results indicated that PWID are not receiving adequate preventative services or harm reduction education from their primary care provider. A need for assessment of substance use, preventative vaccinations, counseling and testing for infectious diseases, and harm reduction education is essential during health care visits. Nurse practitioners and nurses have a role in screening for and educating PWID in a variety of health care settings.

Preclinical and clinical performance of the Efoora test, a rapid test for detection of human immunodeficiency virus-specific antibodies.

Barriers to effective diagnostic testing for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection can be reduced with simple, reliable, and rapid detection methods. Our objective was to determine the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of a new rapid, lateral-flow immunochromatographic HIV-1 antibody detection device. Preclinical studies were performed using seroconversion, cross-reaction, and interference panels, archived clinical specimens, and fresh whole blood. In a multicenter, prospective clinical trial, a four-sample matrix of capillary (fingerstick) whole-blood specimens and venous whole blood, plasma, and serum was tested for HIV-1 antibodies with the Efoora HIV rapid test (Efoora Inc., Buffalo Grove, IL) and compared with an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (Abbott Laboratories) licensed by the Food and Drug Administration. Western blot and nucleic acid test supplemental assays were employed to adjudicate discordant samples. Preclinical testing of seroconversion panels showed that antibodies were often detected earlier by the rapid test than by a reference EIA. No significant interference or cross-reactions were observed. Testing of 4,984 archived specimens yielded a sensitivity of 99.2% and a specificity of 99.7%. A prospective multicenter clinical study with 2,954 adult volunteers demonstrated sensitivity and specificity for the Efoora HIV rapid test of 99.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 99.3 and 99.98%) and 99.0% (95% CI, 98.5 and 99.4%), respectively. Reactive rapid HIV-1 antibody detection was confirmed in 99.6% of those with a known HIV infection (n = 939), 5.2% of those in the high-risk group (n = 1,003), and 0.1% of those in the low-risk group (n = 1,012). For 21 (0.71%) patients, there was discordance between the results of the rapid test and the confirmatory EIA/Western blot tests. We conclude that the Efoora HIV rapid test is a simple, rapid assay for detection of HIV-1 antibodies, with high sensitivity and specificity compared to a standardized HIV-1 EIA.