Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of PWID population with positive HCV-RNA according to HCV antiviral treatment status.
| Variables | Total HCV-RNA+ n = 234 | Treated n = 168 | Untreated n = 66 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 41 (34–47) | 41 (35–48) | 38 (32–45) |
| Male | 207 (88) | 147 (88) | 60 (90) |
| Foreign nationality | 116 (49) | 80 (48) | 36 (54) |
| Homeless | 82 (35) | 54 (32) | 28 (42) |
| Family support | 124 (53) | 98 (58) | 26 (39) |
| Unemployment | 151 (65) | 123 (73) | 28 (44) |
| Previously incarcerated∗ | 123 (60) | 104 (63) | 19 (50) |
| Educational level∗: | |||
| None | 4 (2) | 4 (2) | 0 (0) |
| Primary education | 91 (44) | 71 (43) | 20 (53) |
| Secondary education | 49 (24) | 43 (26) | 6 (16) |
| Highschool | 15 (7) | 13 (8) | 2 (5) |
| University degree | 25 (12) | 22 (13) | 3 (8) |
| Vocational training | 13 (6) | 12 (7) | 1 (3) |
| Healthcare system attendance: | |||
| Primary care | 66 (28) | 56 (33) | 10 (15) |
| Hospital | 43 (18) | 30 (18) | 13 (20) |
| Drug injection (previous 6 months): | |||
| >Once/day | 132 (56) | 99 (59) | 33 (51) |
| Once/day | 25 (11) | 19 (11) | 6 (10) |
| Weekly | 30 (13) | 22 (13) | 8 (12) |
| <Weekly | 41 (17) | 23 (14) | 18 (27) |
| None | 6 (3) | 5 (3) | 1 (2) |
| Drug consumption (previous 6 months): | |||
| Cocaine | 207 (88) | 145 (86) | 62 (95) |
| Heroin | 208 (89) | 145 (86) | 63 (95) |
| Cocaine and heroin | 174 (79) | 125 (74) | 49 (74) |
| Cannabis | 113 (48) | 93 (55) | 20 (32) |
| Speedball | 171 (73) | 116 (69) | 55 (83) |
| Syringe sharing (previous 6 months)∗ | 36 (18) | 29 (17) | 7 (18) |
| Paraphernalia sharing (previous 6 months)∗ | 77 (38) | 59 (36) | 18 (45) |
| Risky sexual relationships (previous 6 months)† | 77 (44) | 63 (41) | 14 (56) |
| Alcohol consumption (previous 6 months) | 72 (31) | 59 (35) | 13 (19) |
| >28 units/week | 27 (12) | 22 (13) | 5 (8) |
| Opioid substitution therapy (OST) | 104 (44) | 82 (49) | 22 (33) |
| Concomitant psychiatric medication∗ | |||
| Benzodiazepines | 80 (39) | 65 (39) | 25 (63) |
| Antidepressants | 34 (17) | 28 (17) | 6 (15) |
| Antipsychotics | 23 (11) | 19 (11) | 4 (10) |
| HIV+ | 47 (20) | 33 (20) | 14 (21) |
| TARGA therapy among HIV+ | 27/47 (57) | 19/33 (58) | 8/14 (57) |
| Previous HCV+ diagnosis | 152 (65) | 123 (73) | 29 (44) |
| Previous HCV antiviral therapy | 36 (15) | 29 (17) | 7 (11) |
| HCV-RNA (IU/ml) | 538,000 (91,300–1,875,000) | 538,000 (74,725–1,665,000) | 511,000 (113,500–2,680,000) |
| Baseline FibroScan® (kPa) | n = 199 | n = 168 | n = 31 |
| Fibrosis stage | 6 (4.9–7.5) | 6 (4.8–7.6) | 6 (4.9–7.5) |
| F0–1 | 150 (75) | 126 (75) | 24 (77) |
| F2 | 27 (14) | 23 (14) | 4 (13) |
| F3 | 12 (6) | 11 (6) | 1 (3) |
| F4 | 10 (5) | 8 (5) | 2 (6) |
| Advanced fibrosis (LSM ≥9.5 kPa) | 22 (11) | 19 (11) | 3 (10) |
Qualitative variables are expressed as n (%) and quantitative variables median (P25–P75). LSM, liver stiffness measurement; PWID, people who inject drugs; TARGA, antiretroviral therapy.
∗
Available in n = 205, 165, and 40 individuals in each group.
†
Available in n = 179, 154, and 25 individuals in each group. The remaining individuals declined to answer or referred ‘unknown’.