HIV and Hepatitis C Virus Testing Delays at Methadone Clinics in Guangdong Province, China

Ying-Hua Xia, Megan M McLaughlin, Wen Chen, Li Ling and Joseph D Tucker

PLOS ONE, 2013, vol. 8, issue 6, 1-8

Abstract: In China, injection drug use is a major transmission route for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Timely HIV and HCV testing among drug users is vital to earlier diagnosis, linkage to care, and retention. This study aimed to examine HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing delays at methadone clinics in Guangdong Province, China, and identify individual-level and clinic-level factors associated with delayed testing. Data from 13,270 individuals at 45 methadone clinics in Guangdong were abstracted from a national web-based surveillance database. A two-level binomial logit model was used to examine the association between individual- and clinic-level factors and delayed HIV and HCV testing, defined as receiving a test seven or more days after initial entry into the methadone system. Among 10,046 patients tested for HIV, 1882 (18.7%) had delayed testing; among 10,404 patients tested for HCV, 1542 (14.8%) had delayed testing. Among delayed testers, the median time to HCV testing was significantly longer than the median time to HIV testing (73 vs. 54 days, p

Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0066787

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066787

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