title: Self-reported hepatitis B and C virus infections had low sensitivity among HIV-infected patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the validity of self-reported hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in HIV-infected injection drug users (IDUs) vs. nonIDUs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was performed among HIV-infected IDUs and nonIDUs in the Penn Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Database. Self-reported past HBV, HCV, and serostatus were obtained from the CFAR Database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 970 subjects (798 nonIDUs; 172 IDUs), there was no difference in sensitivity of self-reported HBV between nonIDUs (27% [95/346]; 95% CI, 23%-32%) and IDUs (26% [31/117]; 95% CI, 19%-35%; P>0.5), but specificity was greater among nonIDUs (96% [360/374; 95% CI, 94%-98%] vs. 78% [28/36; 95% CI, 61%-90%]; P<0.001). Sensitivity of self-reported HCV was greater among IDUs (78% [101/130; 95% CI, 70%-85%] vs. 62% [47/76; 95% CI, 50%-73%]; P=0.02), but there was no difference in specificity (97% [626/643]; 95% CI, 96%-98% for nonIDUs vs. 93% [26/28]; 95% CI, 76%-99%] for IDUs; P=0.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The sensitivity of self-reported HBV and HCV compared to actual serostatus are not sufficiently high enough to warrant their use to estimate the prevalence and incidence of these infections.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021, USA. vincent.lore@uphs.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lo Re
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Synnestvedt
authors.forename: A Russell
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Localio
authors.forename: Jay R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Kostman
authors.forename: Brian L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Strom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012648:Self Care; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral