OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and coverage benefits of auto-disable (AD) syringes, weighed against the financial and logis- tical costs, and to create appropriate health policies in Madagascar. METHODS Fifteen clinics in Madagascar, trained to use AD syringes, were randomized to implement an AD syringe only, mixed (AD syringes used only on non-routine immunization days), or sterilizable sy...

Background.  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID) is associated with the sharing of injection paraphernalia. People who inject drugs often "disinfect" used syringes with household products when new syringes are unavailable. We assessed the effectiveness of these products in disinfecting HCV-contaminated syringes. Methods.  A genotype-2a reporter virus assay ...

Syringe-sharing behaviors among injection drug users (IDUs) are typically based on self-reports and subject to socially desirable responding. We used 3 short tandem repeat (STR) genetic biomarkers to detect sharing in 2,512 syringes exchanged by 315 IDUs in the Baltimore needle exchange program (NEP; 738 person-visits). Demographic characteristics as well as direct and indirect needle-sharing b...

OBJECTIVE To determine the availability of syringes for injection drug users (IDUs) from pharmacies in Denver. DESIGN Single-group, uncontrolled, noncomparative study. SETTING Denver, Colorado. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS 23 randomly selected pharmacies in the Denver metropolitan area and 3 additional pharmacies located near drug-buying locations. INTERVENTION Attempt by eight traine...

BACKGROUND Although plastic arterial sampling syringes are now commonly used, the effects of sample storage time and temperature on blood gas tensions are poorly described for samples with a high oxygen partial pressure (PaO2) taken with these high density polypropylene syringes. METHODS Two ml samples of tonometered whole blood (PaO2 86.7 kPa, PaCO2 4.27 kPa) were placed in glass syringes an...

We have compared ionized magnesium assays in the Nova 8 electrolyte analyser using dry balanced heparinized syringes and self-prepared heparinized syringes. Thirty blood specimens were obtained into syringes either operator-prepared with liquid sodium heparin or commercially manufactured dry balanced heparinized syringes. There was a good correlation between results from the two syringes. The m...