[HIV infection and injecting drug users: The urgency of reinvigorating harm-reduction programmes]. / Infección por VIH y usuarios de drogas por vía parenteral: Urgencia de la revitalización de los programas de reducción de daños.

The HIV epidemic among injecting drug users (IDUs) has led to greater support for the development of the harm-reduction perspective. This has proven to be a driving force for initially reluctant policy makers, managers and health care providers and has facilitated the implementation of harm-reduction programmes. This article presents recent data, both global and at the European and Spanish levels, about a) the epidemiological situation of HIV infection among IDUs, and b) the state of development of harm-reduction programmes. The incidence of HIV infection among IDUs not only continues to grow in different areas of, for example, Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe, but has even shown an upturn in cities or specific IDU groups in parts of Western Europe with apparently comprehensive harm-reduction strategies. On the other hand, of the 158 countries that acknowledge illegal drug use via injection in their territory, only 82 support harm reduction, explicitly in national policy documents and/or through the implementation or tolerance of interventions such as needle exchange programmes or opioid agonist programmes. These data, in conjunction with the high-quality and consistent evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of harm- and risk-reduction programmes for HIV prevention and management among IDUs, should serve as a call to avoid complacency with regard to the diversification, accessibility and coverage of harm- and risk-reduction programmes for IDUs.

Drug-dependent inpatients reporting continuous absence of spontaneous drug craving for the main substance throughout detoxification treatment.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Drug craving is considered to be an essential component of substance dependence. We aimed to characterise drug-dependent inpatients reporting continuous absence of subjective spontaneous drug craving. DESIGN AND METHODS: This is a 3 year chart-review study designed to compare drug-dependent inpatients who did not report craving everyday (non-cravers) and their counterparts who did (cravers). All participants were recruited consecutively and completed a 14 day detoxification treatment. Craving was defined as a desire to use the main detoxification substance. This substance was chosen by patients, who completed a craving visual analogue scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory daily. The Temperament and Character Inventory and the Addiction Severity Index were also used. RESULTS: Of the 195 patients who completed the detoxification treatment, 45 (23.1%) were non-cravers and 32 (16.4%) were cravers. The main detoxification substances were alcohol, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methadone. Non-cravers named methadone as the main detoxification substance more frequently than cravers, and benzoylecgonine was less frequently present in their urine at treatment entry. A decreased score on the Temperament and Character Inventory dimension of harm avoidance (i.e. trait anxiety) was the only independent predictor of absence of craving (odds ratio = 1.16, 95% confidence interval = 1.03-1.31). During admission, non-cravers had lower Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores than cravers. These differences were not accounted for by pharmacological treatment. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Drug -dependent inpatients who report absence of craving are characterised by relatively low levels of depression and anxiety throughout detoxification treatment, and relatively low levels of trait anxiety.

Infección por VIH y usuarios de drogas por vía parenteral: Urgencia de la revitalización de los programas de reducción de daños / HIV infection and injecting drug users: The urgency of reinvigorating harm-reduction programmes

La epidemia del VIH entre los usuarios de drogas por vía parenteral (UDVP) ha propiciado un mayor impulso a la perspectiva de la reducción de daños y ha sido el principal motivo por el que tanto responsables políticos y gestores como profesionales de la atención a la salud inicialmente reacios han posibilitado la implementación de este tipo de programas. Este artículo presenta datos recientes, tanto a nivel global como europeo y estatal, a) de la situación epidemiológica de la infección por VIH entre los UDVP y b) del estado de desarrollo de los programas de reducción de daños. La incidencia del VIH en el colectivo de UDVP no sólo sigue aumentando en diferentes ámbitos geográficos, por ejemplo, del Sudeste Asiático o de Europa del Este, sino que incluso experimenta repuntes en ciudades o grupos concretos de UDVP pertenecientes a territorios de Europa Occidental con una aparentemente aceptable estrategia de reducción de daños. Asimismo, de los 158 países que reconocen que en su territorio se consumen drogas ilegalizadas por vía endovenosa, únicamente 82 de ellos apoyan la reducción de daños, explícitamente en documentos sobre políticas de ámbito nacional y/o mediante la implementación o tolerancia de intervenciones como los programas de intercambio de jeringas o los de mantenimiento con agonistas opioides. Estos datos, confrontados con la consistencia y volumen de la evidencia disponible sobre la eficacia y efectividad de los programas de reducción de daños y riesgos en la prevención y manejo del VIH en el colectivo de UDVP, deben servir de llamamiento a evitar la complacencia en relación con la diversificación, accesibilidad y cobertura de los programas de reducción de daños y riesgos dirigidos a UDVP (AU)

The HIV epidemic among injecting drug users (IDUs) has led to greater support for the development of the harm-reduction perspective. This has proven to be a driving force for initially reluctant policy makers, managers and health care providers and has facilitated the implementation of harm-reduction programmes. This article presents recent data, both global and at the European and Spanish levels, about a) the epidemiological situation of HIV infection among IDUs, and b) the state of development of harm-reduction programmes. The incidence of HIV infection among IDUs not only continues to grow in different areas of, for example, Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe, but has even shown an upturn in cities or specific IDU groups in parts of Western Europe with apparently comprehensive harm-reduction strategies. On the other hand, of the 158 countries that acknowledge illegal drug use via injection in their territory, only 82 support harm reduction, explicitly in national policy documents and/or through the implementation or tolerance of interventions such as needle exchange programmes or opioid agonist programmes. These data, in conjunction with the high-quality and consistent evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of harm- and risk-reduction programmes for HIV prevention and management among IDUs, should serve as a call to avoid complacency with regard to the diversification, accessibility and coverage of harm- and risk-reduction programmes for IDUs (AU)