OBJECTIVE The role of needle and syringe sharing behavior of injection drug users (IDUs) in spreading of blood-borne infections - specially HIV/AIDS - is well known. However, very little is known in this regard from Iran. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence and associates of needle and syringe sharing among Iranian IDUs. METHODS In a secondary analysis of a sample of drug dep...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Percutaneous vertebroplasty procedures require relatively long durations of fluoroscopic guidance, which might lead to substantial radiation dose to operators. Specialized injection devices have been proposed to limit operator exposure. Our purpose was to compare the radiation dose to the operator's hands during vertebroplasty when using 1-cc syringes versus that when usi...

Vancouver, Canada recently opened a medically supervised safer injecting facility (SIF) in an effort to reduce HIV and overdose risk and public injection drug use. We sought to examine factors associated with syringe sharing among SIF users. SIF users were randomly recruited into a prospective cohort of SIF users known as the Scientific Evaluation of Supervised Injecting (SEOSI) cohort. We exam...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this prospective, randomized, blinded study was to compare the pain of injection and post-injection pain of the AMSA injection using the computer-assisted Wand Plus injection system versus a conventional syringe. STUDY DESIGN Using a crossover design, 40 subjects randomly received 2 blinded AMSA injections using the Wand Plus system and a conventional syringe, at 2 se...

PURPOSE To describe an intravitreal injection technique using a commercially available 29-gauge insulin needle syringe (29GN syringe) and a 21-gauge (G) needle, comparing compound waste associated with this technique application and the one described in ranibizumab (Lucentis) kit instructions. METHODS Ten 0.3 ml doses of distilled water were aspirated using the 29GN syringe and 21G needle (PT...

BACKGROUND Injection drug use (IDU) is a primary vector for blood-borne infections. Awareness of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection status may affect risky injection behaviors. This study determines the prevalence of risky injection practices and examines associations between awareness of positive HCV status and risky injection behaviors. METHODS We surveyed individuals seeking treatment for s...

Safer injection facilities provide medical supervision for illicit drug injections. We aimed to examine factors associated with syringe sharing in a community-recruited cohort of illicit injection drug users in a setting where such a facility had recently opened. Between Dec 1, 2003, and June 1, 2004, of 431 active injection drug users 49 (11.4%, 95% CI 8.5-14.3) reported syringe sharing in the...

Background and Aims: Most children get a lot of anxiety while they visit a dentist. The most important factor in the child's fear at the beginning of treatment is the syringe and needle. Ways to cope with this anxiety include behavioural control techniques such as mental regeneration, distraction, and induction. The purpose of this study was to compare the pain and anxiety in children when usin...