Department of Health Policy and Management Works

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Browsing Department of Health Policy and Management Works by Subject "administration & dosage"

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    HIV Infection Linked to Injection Use of Oxymorphone in Indiana, 2014-2015
    (New England Journal of Medicine, 2016-07-21) Peters, Philip J.; Pontones, Pamela; Hoover, Karen W.; Patel, Monita R.; Galang, Romeo R.; Shields, Jessica; Blosser, Sara J.; Spiller, Michael W.; Combs, Brittany; Switzer, William M.; Conrad, Caitlin; Gentry, Jessica; Khudyakov, Yury; Waterhouse, Dorothy; Owen, S. Michele; Chapman, Erika; Roseberry, Jeremy C.; McCants, Veronica; Weidle, Paul J.; Broz, Dita; Samandari, Taraz; Mermin, Jonathan; Walthall, Jennifer; Brooks, John T.; Duwve, Joan M.; Indiana HIV Outbreak Investigation Team; Department of Health Policy and Management, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    BACKGROUND: In January 2015, a total of 11 new diagnoses of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were reported in a small community in Indiana. We investigated the extent and cause of the outbreak and implemented control measures. METHODS: We identified an outbreak-related case as laboratory-confirmed HIV infection newly diagnosed after October 1, 2014, in a person who either resided in Scott County, Indiana, or was named by another case patient as a syringe-sharing or sexual partner. HIV polymerase (pol) sequences from case patients were phylogenetically analyzed, and potential risk factors associated with HIV infection were ascertained. RESULTS: From November 18, 2014, to November 1, 2015, HIV infection was diagnosed in 181 case patients. Most of these patients (87.8%) reported having injected the extended-release formulation of the prescription opioid oxymorphone, and 92.3% were coinfected with hepatitis C virus. Among 159 case patients who had an HIV type 1 pol gene sequence, 157 (98.7%) had sequences that were highly related, as determined by phylogenetic analyses. Contact tracing investigations led to the identification of 536 persons who were named as contacts of case patients; 468 of these contacts (87.3%) were located, assessed for risk, tested for HIV, and, if infected, linked to care. The number of times a contact was named as a syringe-sharing partner by a case patient was significantly associated with the risk of HIV infection (adjusted risk ratio for each time named, 1.9; P<0.001). In response to this outbreak, a public health emergency was declared on March 26, 2015, and a syringe-service program in Indiana was established for the first time. CONCLUSIONS: Injection-drug use of extended-release oxymorphone within a network of persons who inject drugs in Indiana led to the introduction and rapid transmission of HIV. (Funded by the state government of Indiana and others.).