SynthesisAddiction (Abingdon, England)2023
Comprehensive needle and syringe program and opioid agonist therapy reduce HIV and hepatitis c virus acquisition among people who inject drugs in different settings: A pooled analysis of emulated trials.
Synthesis in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Global coverage of interventions to prevent and manage drug-related harms among people who inject drugs: a systematic review.The Lancet. Global health · 2023Pooled it
- Methodological innovations to advance substance use disorder research: Proceedings of a NIDA workshop on target trial emulation and translational testing of digital health tools.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Locating Power in a Cross-Sectoral Health Promotion Collaboration Addressing HIV and Hepatitis C.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2026Article
- Design and Implementation of Observational Studies Emulating a Target Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Linkage to hepatitis C virus care in a binational cohort study of People who inject drugs on the U.S.-Mexico border.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- Methodologies for the Emulation of Biomarker-Guided Trials Using Observational Data: A Systematic Review.Journal of personalized medicine · 2025Review
- Prevalence of blood-borne virus infections and uptake of hepatitis C testing and treatment in Australian prisons: the AusHep study.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2024Article
- Assessing the Safety, User Acceptability, Dissemination, and Reach of a Comprehensive Web-Based Resource on Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD Hub): Protocol for a Development and Usability Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Characteristics of attrition within the SuperMIX cohort of people who inject drugs: a multiple event discrete-time survival analysis.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Article
- [Challenges in the treatment of opioid dependence].Der Nervenarzt · 2024Review
- An Automated Text Messaging Intervention to Reduce Substance Use Self-Stigma (Project RESTART): Protocol for a Feasibility and Acceptability Pilot Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsAlthough the Netherlands, Canada and Australia were early adopters of harm reduction for people who inject drugs (PWID), their respective HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) epidemics differ. We measured the pooled effect of needle and syringe program (NSP) and opioid agonist therapy (OAT) participation on HIV and HCV incidence in these settings.
designFor each cohort, we emulated the design and statistical analysis of a target trial using observational data. SETTING AND
participantsWe included PWID at risk of HIV or HCV infection from the Amsterdam Cohort Studies (1985-2013), Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (1997-2009) and Melbourne Injecting Drug User Cohort Study (SuperMIX) (2010-2021). MEASUREMENTS: Separately for each infection and cohort (only HCV in SuperMIX), marginal structural models were used to compare the effect of comprehensive (on OAT and 100% NSP coverage or on OAT only if no recent injection drug use) versus no/partial NSP/OAT (no OAT and/or <100% NSP coverage) participation. Pooled hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI were calculated using random-effects meta-analysis.
findingsWe observed 94 HIV seroconversions and 81 HCV seroconversions among 2023 and 430 participants, respectively. Comprehensive NSP/OAT led to a 41% lower risk of HIV acquisition (pooled HR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.36-0.96) and a 76% lower risk of HCV acquisition (pooled HR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.11-0.51), compared with no/partial NSP/OAT, with little heterogeneity between studies for both infections (I
conclusionsIn the Netherlands, Canada and Australia, comprehensive needle and syringe program and opioid agonist therapy participation appears to substantially reduce HIV and hepatitis C acquisition compared with no or partial needle and syringe program/opioid agonist therapy participation. These findings from an emulated trial design reinforce the critical role of comprehensive access to harm reduction in optimizing infection prevention for people who inject drugs.
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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.