HIV, HCV Testing Rates Suboptimal In Hospitalized Patients Who Use Drugs, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (6/10, McSwiggin) reports, “Patients who use drugs need more opportunities for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing, as testing rates for these conditions during inpatient encounters are suboptimal among this population.” In the study, “across all sites, the mean rate of HIV and HCV antibody screening was 40% and 32%, respectively. The researchers noted widespread heterogeneity in the rate of testing for both HIV infection (SD, 23%) and HCV infection (SD, 15%).” These findings were published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.