Opioid substitution therapy combined with HIV treatment saves the lives of more drug users than ART alone

Providing opioid substitution therapy (OST) alongside antiretroviral therapy (ART) to people who inject drugs results in a significantly greater reduction in deaths compared to providing either intervention alone, a study of the Canadian province of British Columbia has shown.

The findings were presented by Dr Bohdan Nosyk and colleagues from the University of British Columbia Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS at the Eighth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) in Vancouver, Canada.

Research from Ukraine, also presented at the conference, showed that people receiving opioid substitution therapy had better engagement with HIV care.

Opioid substitution therapy is recommended by the World Health Organization as a core element of the harm reduction and care package that should be provided for people who inject drugs after diagnosis with HIV infection. There are big variations worldwide in access to opioid substitution therapy for people living with HIV who inject drugs: a 21-country survey, published in 2013, found average coverage of just 3% for this population.

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