Patient’s selection

To be eligible for this study, patients had to be herbal and/or chemical IDUs, be HCV seropositive, age > 15 years with no previous HCV treatment. All included patients have aminotransferase level within the reference range. This study was performed between April 2011 and September 2015, consisting of two main groups a) 580 HCV seropositive IDUs majority from Shiraz university of medical science- Hepatitis clinic and b) 104 HIV/HCV co-infected IDUs referred from Shiraz Behavioral Diseases Consultation Center (SBDC) in Fars Province, southern Iran. All patients referred to Prof. Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center (PACMRC) for more examination. They were interviewed face-to-face and their demographic data and risks were recorded. The liver enzyme level data were checked by reviewing of patients medical records.

Hepatitis clinic, SBDC and PACMRC are institutions affiliated with Shiraz University of medical sciences.