A Trial to Reduce Hepatitis C Seroincidence in Drug Users

To test whether a four-session motivational intervention would reduce hepatitis C virus (HCV) seroincidence among injection and non-injection drug users compared to an assessment-only condition, we performed a randomized 24-month clinical trial. At baseline, 277 participants reported using heroin or cocaine at least three times weekly were HCV antibody negative, 65% were male and 46% were Caucasian and 39% reported having injected drugs. Of the 15 (5.4%) individuals who seroconverted, all reported injecting drugs either at baseline or during follow-up. Seroconversion rates did not differ significantly by treatment assignment (p = .79). The annual HCV incident rate was 8.20 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.76-14.13) for injectors and 0.74 (95% CI = 0.19-2.98) for non-injectors per 100 person-years. Significantly fewer participants in the intervention group initiated injection drug use behaviors (p = .009). This intervention was no more effective at reducing HCV seroconversion than assessment alone but did decrease injection initiation.