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. 2011 Apr;30(2):91-7.
doi: 10.1080/10550887.2011.554775.

Chronic pain and hepatitis C virus infection in opioid dependent injection drug users

Judith I Tsui  1 , Debra S Herman, Malyna Kettavong, Bradley J Anderson, Michael D Stein
Affiliations

Chronic pain and hepatitis C virus infection in opioid dependent injection drug users

Judith I Tsui et al. J Addict Dis. 2011 Apr.

Abstract

It is unknown whether infection with hepatitis C is a risk factor for pain among people who have used injection drugs. Multivariate regression was used to determine whether hepatitis C was associated with greater likelihood of reporting significant chronic pain and discomfort intolerance in a cohort of 97 injection drug users dependent on opioids. Study results suggest that participants with hepatitis C may be more likely to experience chronic pain (aOR=1.98; 95% confidence interval=0.76 to 5.12, p=0.16). Furthermore, hepatitis C was found to be associated with a higher discomfort intolerance scale score, reflecting intolerance to physical discomfort (β=2.34; 95% confidence interval=0.06 to 4.62; p=0.04). Hepatitis C may be a cause for chronic pain and discomfort intolerance that is overlooked among injection drug users dependent on opioids.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00475878.

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