학술논문
Absence of antibody to human immunodeficiency virus long-term, socially rehabilitated methadone maintenance patients
Document Type
Periodical
Author
Source
Archives of Internal Medicine. Jan 1990, Vol. 150 Issue 1, p97, 3 p.
Subject
Language
ISSN
0003-9926
Abstract
Intravenous drug users are the second largest group affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with 55 to 60 percent testing positive for the virus. HIV is transmitted from person to person when infected needles are shared. Methadone can be given by mouth to treat former heroin addicts. Rehabilitation with methadone maintenance should effectively reduce the risk of HIV infection. Fifty-eight former intravenous drug users enrolled in a methadone maintenance program for an average of 16 months; they were tested for HIV and hepatitis B, another common viral infection in IV drug abusers. Methadone treatments began at the onset of the HIV epidemic. None of the patients tested positive for HIV. Evidence of a hepatitis B infection was present in 53 (91 percent) of the patients. Methadone maintenance treatment initiated before the AIDS epidemic protected IV drug abusers from HIV infections. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)