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Combining HIV & drug treatment doubles the proportion of opiate users with UD VL
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Jim Allen:
Combining HIV and drug treatment doubles the proportion of opiate users who have an undetectable viral load
Gus Cairns - 22 March 2023, Aidsmap article: https://www.aidsmap.com/news/mar-2023/russia-combining-hiv-and-drug-treatment-doubles-proportion-opiate-users-who-have
In Brief:
--- Quote ---In a randomised controlled trial conducted with HIV-positive people who inject drugs in St Petersburg, Russia, three simple strategies – offering immediate HIV treatment at hospital detox services, offering the opiate antagonist naltrexone as an aid to recovery from opiate dependence, and peers providing monthly ‘strength-based case management' – resulted in a doubling of participants with undetectable viral loads compared to the usual standard of care.
Participants who were offered the enhanced care package also had better retention in HIV care compared to the standard of care and experienced rises, rather than falls, in their CD4 count. And although only a minority achieved abstinence from opiate use, three times as many did as in the standard of care. --- End quote ---
Samet JH et al. Suppressing viral load in people with HIV who inject drugs in Russia: LINC-II RCT. Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Seattle, abstract 203, 2023.