BACKGROUND The two largest needle exchange programs (NEPs) in Hungary were forced to close down in the second half of 2014 due to extreme political attacks and related lack of government funding. The closures occurred against a background of rapid expansion in Hungary of injectable new psychoactive substances, which are associated with very frequent injecting episodes and syringe sharing. The a...

Since 2005, California law allowed over-the-counter (OTC) syringe sales pending local authorization. Although pharmacy sales of OTC syringes are associated with reduced injection-mediated risks and decreases in human immunodeficiency virus infection rates, little is known about the factors associated with syringe purchase among injection drug users (IDUs). Using a cross-sectional design, the au...

Objectives: To know the family income of diabetic patients and the places where they acquire/purchase the syringes, and to analyze the cost of treating the disease at home and the consequences of such costs. Methods: Descriptive, analytical, cross-section study, which interviewed 199 patients cared for at a large pediatric school hospital in São Paulo in 2004. Results: The predominant family in...

BACKGROUND We investigated the extent and frequency of dose errors and treatment delays made as a consequence of preparing drug infusions at the bedside, rather than using pre-filled syringes. METHODS Forty-eight nurses with critical care experience volunteered to take part in this randomized, blinded, controlled study conducted in the simulation centre of an urban hospital. They assisted in ...

AIM To determine whether syringe exchange programs' (SEPs) dispensation policy is associated with syringe coverage among SEP clients. DESIGN Cross-sectional samples of SEPs and their clients. SETTING SEPs in California, USA. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-four SEPs and their injection drug using (IDU) clients (n = 1576). MEASUREMENTS Clients were classified as having adequate syringe coverage if t...

BACKGROUND At the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, more than 6000 inpatients per year undergo IV saline flushes by prefilled syringe to assess and maintain patency of IV tubing. In studies involving adults, it has been reported that volatile substances may leach from syringe materials into the saline, leading to taste and/or odour disturbances. OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of t...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the methods of disposal of used syringes employed by patients with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. METHODS This cross sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital of Karachi and a clinic at Khairpur, Sindh. Diagnosed cases of Hepatitis B and C currently receiving treatment in the form of Interferon alpha injection were included by convenient sampling. The study...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine whether methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is effective in reducing the levels of HIV risk-taking behaviour (borrowing and lending of injection equipment, irregular condom use) among injecting drug users (IDUs), and to identify independent predictors of the borrowing of used syringes. DESIGN Cross sectional study of IDUs in MMT and not in MMT, using standardise...