PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Schlicting, Erin G
AU  - Johnson, Mark E
AU  - Brems, Christiane
AU  - Wells, Rebecca S
AU  - Fisher, Dennis G
AU  - Reynolds, Grace
TI  - Validity of Injecting Drug Users' Self Report of Hepatitis A, B, and C
AID  - 10.29074/ascls.16.2.99
DP  - 2003 Apr 01
TA  - American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
PG  - 99--106
VI  - 16
IP  - 2
4099  - http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/content/16/2/99.short
4100  - http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/content/16/2/99.full
SO  - Clin Lab Sci2003 Apr 01; 16
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To test the validity of drug users self-reports of diseases associated with drug use, in this case hepatitis A, B, and C.DESIGN: Injecting drug users (n = 653) were recruited and asked whether they had been diagnosed previously with hepatitis A, B, and/or C. These self-report data were compared to total hepatitis A antibody, hepatitis B core antibody, and hepatitis C antibody seromarkers as a means of determining the validity of the self-reported information.SETTING: Anchorage, Alaska.PARTICIPANTS: Criteria for inclusion included being at least 18-years old; testing positive on urinalysis for cocaine metabolites, amphetamine, or morphine; having visible signs of injection (track marks).INTERVENTION: Serological testing for hepatitis A, B, and C.MAIN OUTCOME: Findings indicate high specificity, low sensitivity, and low kappa coefficients for all three self-report measures.RESULTS: Subgroup analyses revealed significant differences in sensitivity associated with previous substance abuse treatment experience for hepatitis B self-report and with gender for hepatitis C self-report.CONCLUSION: Given the low sensitivity, the validity of drug users, self-reported information on hepatitis should be considered with caution.ABBREVIATIONS: HAV = hepatitis A virus; HBV = hepatitis B virus; HCV = hepatitis C virus; HIV = human immunodeficiency virus; IDU = injection drug user; STD = sexually transmitted disease.