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Viral InfectionNCT00341081

Validation of Self-Reported Needle Sharing Among Injection Drug Users

An observational study of Viral Infection, run by National Cancer Institute (NCI) at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This study, conducted at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, will determine how accurately injection drug users report their needle-sharing behavior. Needle-sharing is a major cause of blood-borne diseases, including HIV and hepatitis. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Viral Infection
How many people
442 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Oct 2002to Jun 2007
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • All efforts in BNEP and ALIVE were made to recruit as many IDUs as possible without any discrimination based on sex or race.

Who cannot join

  • Individuals under 18 years of age have been excluded from the study.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Johns Hopkins University

    Baltimore, Maryland, 21205

Other trials in United States

About this study

This study, conducted at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, will determine how accurately injection drug users report their needle-sharing behavior. Needle-sharing is a major cause of blood-borne diseases, including HIV and hepatitis. Therefore, a better understanding of this behavior is critical for devising strategies to reduce disease spread in this way. Research on needle-sharing behavior has relied heavily on users' self-reports. This study will compare these self-reports with results of DNA tests that show whether a needle has been used by one or more individuals.

Injection drug users 18 years of age or older participating in the Baltimore Needle Exchange Program (BNEP) have been recruited for this study. Syringes distributed to users through the BNEP are collected after use and tested to differentiate between single versus multiple users. The findings are compared with the participants' responses about whether or not they shared their needles and syringes.

Participants visit the clinic every 6 months for an interview, including questions about their mental and physical health, drug use, sexual activity and knowledge about HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) and AIDS. After the interview, a small amount of blood is drawn for testing for HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and other infectious diseases. Some of the blood is stored for future testing. Participants return to the clinic 4 weeks after the interview and blood drawing to get their test results. At this time, they are offered referral for drug treatment, free condoms, advice about drug use and safer sex and an opportunity to ask questions about their health. Participation in the study may continue for up to 5 years.

Read the detailed description

Needle sharing is a major cause of blood-borne diseases making understanding needle sharing behavior imperative to devising strategies to reduce the disease burden. A DNA-based method, using highly informative genetic markers of short tandem repeats (STRs) is being proposed as a gold standard measure to identify single-use and multi-use syringes. Self-reports of needle sharing, which have been the main source of sharing information for research, will be compared to the genotypic results to validate the responses on such risk behavior. Genotypic information from four autosomal STRs will be used to differentiate DNA from a single versus multiple individuals in syringe exudates obtained from injection drug users (IDUs) from the Baltimore needle exchange program (BNEP) studied by ALIVE II. Detecting three or more distinct alleles at an autosomal STR in the syringe exudates provides evidence that the syringe has been shared by at least two individuals. Matching probabilities will be used to match the genotypic profile of the individual(s) checking in and returning the syringe to allele(s) observed in the syringe exudates, and a mixture discrimination probability will be used to measure the likelihood of single vs. multi genome in the syringe samples. Behavioral surveillance to document the rapid spread of infectious disease from needle sharing among high-risk sub-population such as IDUs are critical for global public health along with the development and implementation of timely interventions.

Conditions
Viral Infection
Keywords
Short Tandem Repeat, Molecular Epidemiology, Viral Infection, Mixture Detection, Intervention & Education, Intervention, Education
Medical subject headings
Virus Diseases

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Jun 2006 (estimated)
  2. Study startOct 2002
  3. Study completionJun 2007

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Enrolment
442 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00341081
Sponsor's protocol ID
999903029
Other IDs
03-C-N029
Status last verified
May 2011
First submitted
19 Jun 2006
Last updated
25 May 2011
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Rezza G, Pizzuti R, De Campora E, De Masi S, Vlahov D. Tetanus and injections drug use: rediscovery of a neglected problem? Eur J Epidemiol. 1996 Dec;12(6):655-6. doi: 10.1007/BF00499469. No abstract available.

    PubMed 8982630

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Viral Infection, run by National Cancer Institute (NCI) at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 May 2011. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00341081, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 25 May 2011.

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