Persons who inject drugs (PWID) and are opioid dependent are highly willing to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), but use remains low in this group, findings published in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment show. Roman Shrestha, PhD, MPH, and colleagues assessed PrEP use among 100 opioid-dependent PWID (mean age, 44.5 years). Most participants (64.0%) reported injecting drugs at least once per week in the previous month, and almost all (79.0%) had never used PrEP. A total of 60 participants obtained PrEP at least once during a 6-month period, with 42 (70.0%) obtaining it only once. In a multivariable model, unemployment (adjusted OR [aOR], 7.819) and previous PrEP use (aOR, 3.381) were associated with better PrEP persistence. Participants who injected drugs once a week or less (aOR, 0.039) or more than once a week in the previous month (aOR, 0.098) were less likely to regularly obtain PrEP.
