Long-term prescription opioids ‘up later hep C risk threefold’
Findings from a big data-linkage study have implications for public health interventions, researchers say
Patients started on long-term prescription opioids have a threefold higher risk of eventually testing positive for hepatitis C, according to the largest-ever study on the subject.
The findings suggest that, although the absolute risk is low, hepatitis C testing for patients on long-term opioid therapy for non-cancer pain may be beneficial, say researchers from the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in Canada.
