Objective Multiple HIV outbreaks among persons who inject drugs (PWID) have occurred in the US since 2015. Emergency departments (EDs), recognized as essential venues for HIV screening, may play a unique role in identifying undiagnosed HIV among PWID, who frequently present for complications of injection drug use (IDU). Our objective was to describe changes in HIV diagnoses among PWID detected by an ED HIV screening program and estimate the program’s contribution to HIV diagnoses among PWID county-wide during the emergence of a regional HIV outbreak. Methods This was a retrospective study of electronically queried clinical records from an urban, safety-net ED’s HIV screening program and publicly available HIV surveillance data for its surrounding county, Hamilton County, Ohio. Outcomes included the change in number of HIV diagnoses and the ED’s contribution to case identification county-wide, overall and for PWID during 2014–2018. Results During 2014–2018, the annual number of HIV diagnoses made by the ED program increased from 20 to 42 overall, and from 1 to 18 for PWID. We estimated that the ED contributed 18% of HIV diagnoses in the county and 22% of diagnoses among PWID. Conclusions The ED program contributed 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses among PWID county-wide, further illustrating the importance of ED HIV screening programs in identifying undiagnosed HIV infections. In areas experiencing increasing IDU, HIV screening in EDs can provide an early indication of increasing HIV diagnoses among PWID and can substantially contribute to case-finding during an HIV outbreak.

Genetics are presumed to contribute 30-40% to opioid use disorder (OUD), allowing for the possibility that genetic markers could be used to identify personal risk for developing OUD. We aimed to test the potential association among 180 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 120 of which were related to the dopamine reward pathway and 60 related to pharmacokinetics. Participants were randomly recruited in 2020-2021 in a crosssectional genetic association study. Self-reported health history including Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) OUD criteria and buccal swabs were collected. A total of 1,301 participants were included in the analyses for this study. Of included participants, 250 met the DSM-5 criteria for ever having OUD. Logistic regression, adjusting for age and biologic sex, was used to characterize the association between each SNP and DSM-5 criteria consistent with OUD. Six SNPs found in four genes were associated with OUD: increased odds with CYP3A5 (rs15524 and rs776746) and DRD3 (rs324029 and rs2654754), and decreased odds with CYP3A4 (rs2740574) and CYP1A2 (rs2069514). Homozygotic CYP3A5 (rs15524 and rs776746) had the highest adjusted odds ratio of 2.812 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.737, 4.798) and 2.495 (95% CI 1.670, 3.835), respectively. Variants within the dopamine reward and opioid metabolism pathways have significant positive (DRD3 and CYP3A5) and negative (CYP3A4 and CYP1A2) associations with OUD. Identification of these variants provides promising possibilities for genetic prognostic and therapeutic targets for future investigation.

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