SynthesisAddiction (Abingdon, England)2012
Meta-analysis of hepatitis C seroconversion in relation to shared syringes and drug preparation equipment.
Synthesis in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A Systematic Review of Interventions Used to Increase Blood Donor Compliance with Deferral Criteria.Transfusion medicine and hemotherapy : offizielles Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Transfusionsmedizin und Immunhamatologie · 2021Pooled it
- Needle and syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapy for preventing HCV transmission among people who inject drugs: findings from a Cochrane Review and meta-analysis.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2018Pooled it
- Needle syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapy for preventing hepatitis C transmission in people who inject drugs.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Needle exchange programs for the prevention of hepatitis C virus infection in people who inject drugs: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Harm reduction journal · 2017Pooled it
- Injecting risk behaviours following treatment for hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs: The Australian Trial in Acute Hepatitis C.The International journal on drug policy · 2015Trial
- Factors associated with HCV risk practices in methadone-maintained patients: the importance of considering the couple in prevention interventions.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2014Trial
- Viral hepatitis among drug users in methadone maintenance: associated factors, vaccination outcomes, and interventions.Journal of addictive diseases · 2014Trial
- The dynamic relationship between social norms and behaviors: the results of an HIV prevention network intervention for injection drug users.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2013Trial
- Pharmacokinetic interaction between telaprevir and methadone.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2013Trial
- County by county estimation of possible deaths averted, infections averted, and cost savings of overdose prevention centers in the United States from July 2019-June 2025.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Trends in HCV Prevalence and Risk Factors Among People who Inject Drugs in Los Angeles County, 2012-2024.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- County by county estimation of possible deaths averted, infections averted, and cost savings of overdose prevention centers in the United States from July 2019-June 2025.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections testing among people who use substances: findings from the 2023 British Columbia Harm Reduction Client Survey.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Clinical and demographic characteristics of participants in a hepatitis C treatment trial in rural Kentucky: How policies around treatment access may impact elimination efforts in the United States.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2026Article
- The role of impulsivity in injection-related risk behaviours among people who inject drugs in Montreal, Canada.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Hepatitis C virus incidence trend and its risk factors among people who inject drugs in Hai Phong, Vietnam.Hepatology international · 2025Article
- Drug use and harm reduction practices of applicants to a public health vending machine service in Clark County, NV, 2021-2023.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Evaluation of a "one-stop shop" for integrated harm reduction and primary care for people who inject drugs.PloS one · 2025Article
- Cost-effectiveness of drug consumption rooms in France: a modelling study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and associated risk factors of hepatitis C antibody and RNA among people who inject drugs in Puerto Rico.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimsWe conducted a systematic review of studies reporting seroincidence of hepatitis C infection (HCV) in relation to shared syringes and drug preparation equipment among injection drug users (IDUs). We identified published and unpublished studies that met inclusion criteria.
designWe estimated the relative contributions of shared syringes and drug preparation equipment to HCV transmission using random-effects meta-analysis, and analyzed potential sources of heterogeneity of effects among studies.
findingsSyringe sharing was associated with HCV seroconversion [pooled risk ratio (PRR) = 1.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.53, 2.46], as was sharing drug preparation containers (PRR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.89, 3.10), filters (PRR = 2.61, 95% CI 1.91, 3.56), rinse water (PRR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.54, 2.56), combinations of this equipment (PRR = 2.24, 95% CI 1.28, 3.93) and 'backloading', a syringe-mediated form of sharing prepared drugs (PRR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.41, 2.44). Meta-regression results showed that the association between syringe sharing and seroconversion was modified by HCV seroprevalence in the IDU populations.
conclusionsThe risk of hepatitis C infection through shared syringes is dependent upon hepatitis C infection seroprevalence in the population. The risk of hepatitis C infection through shared drug preparation equipment is similar to that of shared syringes. Because the infection status of sharing partners is often unknown, it is important for injection drug users to consistently avoid sharing unsterile equipment used to prepare, divide or inject drugs and avoid backloading with an unsterile syringe.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.