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Buprenorphine initiation in the Emergency Department (ED) has been hailed as an evidence-based strategy to mitigate the opioid overdose crisis, but its implementation has been limited. This scoping review synthesizes barriers and facilitators to buprenorphine initiation in the ED, and uses the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and a critical lens to analyze the literature. Results demonstrate an immense effort across the U.S. and Canada to implement ED-initiated buprenorphine. Facilitators include multidisciplinary addiction teams and co-located, low-barrier, harm reduction-informed services to support transitions. Barriers include a failure to address structural stigma, client complexity, and an increasingly toxic drug supply. The literature also misses the opportunity to include the perspectives of service users, health administrators, and learners. Increased coordination of implementation efforts, and a shift to equitable and inclusive opioid agonist therapy initiation pathways are needed across the U.S. and Canada., Competing Interests: NB has received research grant support from the Canadian College of Family Physicians, Womenmind, the Academic Health Sciences Innovation Fund, and salary support from U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grant R25-DA037756 outside of the submitted work. She has received honoraria for creation and delivery of continuing professional development activities, some related to opioid agonist therapy, from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Ontario College of Family Physicians. CK has received funding from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care's AFP Innovation Fund. EG has received a research stipend from the Comprehensive Research Experience for Medical Students (CREMS) through the University of Toronto Temerty School of Medicine. ZF has received support from BioTalent Canada–Student Work Placement Program. DS reports remuneration from the Canadian Medical Protective Agency for expert testimony. ES has received funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 1K08HS025701. Outside of the submitted work, ES reports grant funding from NIDA and the RIZE foundation. BP, CB, CS, MK, KK, and TR report no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Introduction: Legalization has increased cannabis availability in Canada. Research shows complex relationships between cannabis use and mental health, and a need for health care providers to engage with patients about cannabis use. Providers have noted gaps in knowledge and research on the medical effects of cannabis as barriers to service delivery. It is unclear how providers and patients in mental health care settings have been impacted by legalization., Methods: From June 1 to July 2, 2021, we conducted a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with 20 health care providers in a range of roles (e.g., physicians, pharmacists, nurses) within a psychiatric hospital setting. Participants responded to open-ended questions with follow-up probes on various topics related to cannabis legalization. Topics included impacts on patient mental and physical health, clinical impacts, education and training, legal cannabis retail system and the medical cannabis access system., Results: Thematic analysis identified several themes in the data. Participants reported that legalization has had some positive impacts relating to clinical care and cannabis safety. They also expressed concerns with increased rates of cannabis use, risks to mental health and ongoing challenges engaging with patients about cannabis. Participants made recommendations for medical educators and regulators (e.g., updated curriculums, clinical guidelines), the mental health care sector (e.g., implementation of standardized screening), government (e.g., public health campaigns, safe use guidelines), the medical cannabis access system (e.g., increased regulation, research), and the legal cannabis system (e.g., zoning changes, point-of-sale information)., Conclusions: This study begins to address the paucity of data on impacts of legalization from mental health service delivery settings. Findings show that although legalization has had some positive impacts, there are ongoing patient concerns and unmet provider needs. More research is needed to understand the experiences of providers delivering care to populations experiencing mental health and/or substance use concerns who use cannabis in the post-legalization era., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Dr. Bernard Le Foll has obtained funding from Pfizer Inc. (GRAND Awards, including salary support) for investigator-initiated projects. Dr. Le Foll has obtained funding from Indivior for a clinical trial sponsored by Indivior. Dr. Le Foll has in-kind donations of cannabis products from Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc. and study medication donations from Pfizer Inc. (varenicline for smoking cessation) and Bioprojet Pharma. He was also provided a coil for a Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study from Brainsway. Dr. Le Foll has obtained industry funding from Canopy Growth Corporation (through research grants handled by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Toronto), Bioprojet Pharma, Alcohol Countermeasure Systems (ACS), Alkermes and Universal Ibogaine. Lastly, Dr. Le Foll has received in kind donations of nabiximols from GW Pharmaceuticals for past studies funded by CIHR and NIH. He has participated in a session of a National Advisory Board Meeting (Emerging Trends BUP-XR) for Indivior Canada and is part of Steering Board for a clinical trial for Indivior. He has been consultant for Shinogi. He is supported by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, a clinician-scientist award from the department of Family and Community Medicine of the University of Toronto, and a Chair in Addiction Psychiatry from the department of Psychiatry of University of Toronto. Other authors' declarations of interest: none., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Physicians have traditionally asked about substance use within the Social History section of the consultation note. Drawing on social science theory and using the authors' own experiences as generalists and addiction scholars, we consider the possible unintended harms associated with this approach. The inclusion of the substance use history within the Social History reproduces the discourse of substance use disorders as "life-style choices" rather than medical conditions, and reinforces stigma among healthcare workers through the attribution of personal responsibility for complications associated with problematic substance use. The ongoing placement of the substance use history within the Social History may lead to a failure to diagnose and make appropriate management plans for clients with substance use disorders. These missed opportunities may include inadequate withdrawal management leading to discharge before medically advised, insufficient use of evidence-based pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, polypharmacy, medical complications, and repeated admissions to hospital. We argue instead that the Substance Use History should be a stand-alone section within the consultation note. This new section would reduce the invisibility of substance use disorders within our medical systems and model that these chronic medical conditions are amenable to prevention, treatment and harm reduction through the application of evidence-based practices., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Society of General Internal Medicine.)

Background: Daily supervised Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) medication has been identified as a barrier to treatment retention. Canadian OAT guidelines outline take-home dose (THD) criteria, yet, OAT prescribers use their clinical judgement to decide whether an individual is 'clinically stable' to receive THD. There is limited information regarding whether these decisions may result in inequitable access to THD, including in the context of updated COVID-19 guidance. The current Canadian OAT THD guideline synthesis and systematic review aimed to address this knowledge gap., Methods: This systematic review included a two-pronged approach. First, we searched available academic literature in Embase, Medline, and PsychINFO up until October 12th, 2022, to identify studies that compared characteristics of individuals on OAT who had and had not been granted access to THD to explore potential inequities in access. Next, we identified all Canadian national and provincial OAT guidelines through a semi-structured grey literature search (conducted between September-October 2022) and extracted all THD 'stability' and allowances/timeline criteria to compare against characteristics identified in the literature search. Data from both review arms were synthesized and narratively presented., Results: A total of n = 56 guidelines and n = 7 academic studies were included. The systematic review identified a number of patient characteristics such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, housing, employment, neighborhood income, drug use, mental health, health service utilization, as well as treatment duration that were associated with differential access to THD. The Canadian OAT THD guideline synthesis identified many of these same characteristics as 'stability' criteria, underscoring the potential for Canadian OAT guidelines to result in inequitable access to THD., Conclusions: This two-pronged literature review demonstrated that current guidelines likely contribute to inequitable OAT THD access due primarily to inconsistent 'stability' criteria across guidelines. More research is needed to understand differential OAT THD access with a focus on prescriber decision-making and evaluating associated treatment and safety outcomes. The development of a client-centered, equity-focused, and evidence-informed decision making framework that incorporates more clear definitions of 'stability' criteria and indications for prescriber discretion is warranted., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Family physicians report feeling inadequately prepared to meet the evolving mental health care needs of the population. Little scholarship exists evaluating the effectiveness of curricula designed to teach mental health and addiction (MH&A) care to family medicine (FM) residents. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of recent FM residency graduates in providing mental health care, and their perceptions of mental health training gaps during their residencies., Methods: A qualitative descriptive study design was conducted by 8 recent graduates of the University of Toronto's FM residency program, who participated in semi-structured video interviews. A thematic analysis approach was used to collect and analyze the data., Results: Through thematic analysis, 3 overarching themes were developed: (1) barriers in providing mental health and addiction care, (2) curriculum renewal, and (3) the role of FPs and professional identity. Consistent with the literature, the majority of recent FM graduates expressed discomfort when managing patients with mental health and addiction concerns. Additionally, participants perceived residency program time constraints, rotational site differences, and limited exposure to marginalized populations all impacted learning and mastery of skills., Conclusion: The findings of this study underscore current gaps within the FM residency curriculum and highlight the need to address current curricular deficits., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Competing Interests: Intérêts concurrents:: Nikki Bozinoff déclare avoir reçu des bourses de recherche de l’Academic Health Sciences Alternate Funding Program (Programme de financement alternatif de l’Académie des sciences de la santé), des Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada et de la communauté philanthropique womenmind (indépendamment du manuscrit soumis). La Dre Bozinoff a reçu une subvention du National Institute on Drug Abuse (Institut national sur la toxicomanie) (R25-DA037756), en appui du présent manuscrit, ainsi que des honoraires du Collège des médecins de famille de l’Ontario pour des activités éducatives et un paiement du Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale pour l’élaboration de matériel de perfectionnement professionnel continu indépendamment du présent manuscrit. Aucun autre intérêt concurrent n’a été déclaré.

Background: Ontario has one of the highest rates of substance-related harms in Canada. Residential treatment programs in the province provide a variety of in-house treatment services to support the needs of individuals with substance use disorders (SUD). However, these programs are not standardized, often varying in the type, quality, and availability of services offered, including evidence-based interventions such as Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT). Local treatment systems are also rather fragmented and complex to navigate, creating barriers for potential services users to identify and make informed choices on available treatment options., Methods: Between May to August 2023, we conducted an environmental scan to capture available information on all publicly-funded residential treatment programs in Ontario using the ConnexOntario service portal, a government-funded, health services information platform. Data were captured on organization name, geographical location, program description, program type (residential addictions treatment or supportive recovery programs), eligibility criteria, target population, the program's OAT policies, number of available beds, minimum and maximum length of stay, projected wait times, funding source, and associated fees for program admission. Data were extracted and organized by geographic region, and findings were presented descriptively., Results: A total of 102 residential addiction treatment programs and 36 residential supportive recovery programs in Ontario were identified. The scan noted substantial regional variations in program availability and wait times, along with a lack of programs tailored to unique populations such as women, youth, and Indigenous peoples. There is also a paucity of publicly-available information on program offerings, including detailed specifics on OAT policies within residential treatment programs that are crucial to ensuring that the services being offered are safe and grounded in evidence-based practice., Conclusions: Findings from the scan highlight notable gaps in program types, offerings, and availability among residential treatment programs in the province, including a lack of standardization on OAT policies across programs. Efforts should be made to ensure access to treatment-specific program information relevant to potential service users and to enhance coordinated access to residential treatment services in the province., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Alcohol is one of the most widely used substances. Alcohol use accounts for 5.1% of the global disease burden, contributes substantially to societal and economic costs, and leads to approximately 3 million global deaths yearly. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) includes various drinking behavior patterns that lead to short-term or long-lasting effects on health. Ethanol, the main psychoactive molecule acting in alcoholic beverages, directly impacts the GABAergic system, contributing to GABAergic dysregulations that vary depending on the intensity and duration of alcohol consumption. A small number of interventions have been developed that target the GABAergic system, but there are promising future therapeutic avenues to explore. This review provides an overview of the impact of alcohol on the GABAergic system, the current interventions available for AUD that target the GABAergic system, and the novel interventions being explored that in the future could be included among first-line therapies for the treatment of AUD., Competing Interests: TP receives compensation for consulting work from Damona Pharmaceutical Inc., a biotech company developing GABAergic molecules for the treatment of cognitive dysfunctions in depression. ES is co-founder, CEO and CSO of Damona Pharmaceutical Inc. DB receives research support from CIHR, NIH, Brain Canada, and the Temerty Family through the CAMH Foundation. He received research support and in-kind equipment support for an investigator-initiated study from Brainsway Ltd. and has been the site principal investigator for three sponsor-initiated studies for Brainsway Ltd. DB also received in-kind equipment support from Magventure for 3 investigator-initiated studies. DB received medication supplies for an investigator-initiated trial from Indivior. DB has participated in one Scientific Advisory Board Meeting for Janssen and one meeting for Welcony Inc. DV holds the Labatt Family Professorship in Depression Biology, a University Named Professorship at the University of Toronto. She receives research support from CIHR, NIH, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), University Hospital Network (UHN) and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. DV declares no biomedical interests or conflicts. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Dharavath, Pina-Leblanc, Tang, Sloan, Nikolova, Pangarov, Ruocco, Shield, Voineskos, Blumberger, Boileau, Bozinoff, Gerretsen, Vieira, Melamed, Sibille, Quilty and Prevot.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: Nikki Bozinoff reports receiving research grant funding from the Academic Health Sciences Alternate Funding Program, Canadian Institutes of Health Research and womenmind (outside the submitted manuscript). Dr. Bozinoff has received grant funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant R25-DA037756), in support of the present manuscript. Dr. Bozinoff has also received honoraria from the Ontario College of Family Physicians for educational events and payment from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health for writing continuing professional development materials unrelated to this manuscript. No other competing interests were declared.

Background: Engagement and retention in opioid agonist therapy (OAT) remains a challenge. This study evaluated the impact of initial randomized OAT allocation on subsequent switching among people with prescription-type opioid use disorder (POUD)., Methods: Secondary analysis of a 24-week Canadian multicenter, pragmatic, randomized trial conducted between 2017 and 2020 comparing flexible take-home buprenorphine/naloxone versus supervised methadone models of care for POUD. We used Cox Proportional Hazards modeling to assess for impact of treatment assignment on time to OAT switching, adjusting for important confounders. For clinical correlates, we analyzed data from baseline questionnaires on demographic, substance use, and health factors as well as urine drug screen., Results: Of 272 randomized participants, 210 initiated OAT within 14 days per trial protocol, of whom 103 participants were randomized to buprenorphine/naloxone and 107 to methadone. Within 24-week follow-up, 41 (20.5%) of all participants switched OAT with 25 (24.3%, median 27 days, 88.4 per 100 person-years) and 16 participants (15.0%, median 53.5 days, 46.1 per 100 person-years) switching from buprenorphine/naloxone and methadone arms, respectively. In adjusted analysis, allocation to buprenorphine/naloxone was associated with significantly higher risk of switching (aHR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.22 - 4.38)., Conclusions: OAT switching was common in this sample of individuals with POUD, with individuals randomly allocated to buprenorphine/naloxone being more than twice as likely to switch versus methadone. This may reflect a stepped care approach in OUD management. More research is needed to evaluate overall retention and outcomes with the different observed risks of switching between methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest E.W. is the Chief Medical Officer of a mental health company called Numinus Wellness. D.J-A. receives study material from Tetra Biopharma and Cardiol Therapeutics for trials funded by public institution in Quebec and not related to opioid use disorder. B.L.F. receives or has received support from Indivior, Pfizer Global Research Awards in Nicotine Dependence (GRAND) programme, Brainsway, Bioprojet, Alkermes, Canopy, ACS and non-financial support from Aurora for work outside this study. M.E.S. has received partial support from Indivior’s Investigator Initiated Study programme for work outside this study. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is a critical measure of quality of care across health disciplines because it may affect clinical outcomes., Objectives: This study aimed to examine longitudinal patient satisfaction in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) randomized to receive either standard methadone or flexible buprenorphine/naloxone models of care, its predictors, and association with dropout/illicit drug use., Methods: This study assessed patient satisfaction, using the 8-item version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), as a secondary outcome of a large phase IV pragmatic randomized controlled trial (OPTIMA). The effectiveness of standard methadone model of care was compared with flexible take-home buprenorphine/naloxone dispensation model of care in patients with prescription-type OUD. Of 272 participants recruited and followed up for 24 weeks, 183 were eligible for this study., Results: Throughout the study, patients were "satisfied" with their treatment. The average CSQ score was not significantly different between weeks 4, 12, and 24 in the total sample (χ 2 = 0.35; P = 0.84). There was no significant difference in CSQ based on treatment assignment (methadone vs flexible buprenorphine/naloxone) either overall ( z = 0.87; P = 0.38) or over time (χ 2 = 0.65; P = 0.72). High levels of depression at baseline and decreased depressive symptoms over the follow-up period predicted positive changes in patient satisfaction ( P = 0.03 and P = <0.01, respectively). Satisfaction was significantly associated with treatment retention but not illicit drug use., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that patients with OUD on either standard methadone or flexible buprenorphine were generally satisfied with their treatment, with no difference in patient satisfaction based on treatment allocation. Given the ongoing opioid crisis, strategies to improve patient satisfaction should be further explored., (Copyright © 2022 American Society of Addiction Medicine.)

Background and Aims: Given the ongoing opioid crisis, novel interventions to treat severe opioid use disorder (OUD) are urgently needed. Injectable opioid agonist therapy (iOAT) with diacetylmorphine or hydromorphone is effective for the treatment of severe, treatment-refractory OUD, however barriers to implementation persist. Intravenous buprenorphine for the treatment of OUD (BUP iOAT) has several possible advantages over traditional iOAT, including a safety profile that might enable take-home dosing. We aimed to characterize injecting practices among real-world populations of persons who regularly inject buprenorphine, as well as associated adverse events reported in order to inform a possible future BUP iOAT intervention., Methods: We conducted a systematic review. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO from inception through July 2020 and used backwards citation screening to search for publications reporting on dose, frequency among persons who regularly inject the drug, or adverse events associated with intravenous use of buprenorphine. The review was limited to English language publications and there was no limitation on study type. Study quality and risk of bias was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Narrative synthesis was used in reporting the results., Results: Eighty-eight studies were included in our review. Regular injection of buprenorphine was identified across diverse settings world-wide. Daily dose of oral buprenorphine injected was &lt; 1-12 mg. Frequency of injection was 0-10 times daily. Adverse events could be characterized as known side effects of opioids/buprenorphine or injection-related complications. Most studies were deemed to be of low quality., Conclusions: Extramedical, intravenous use of buprenorphine, continues to be documented. BUP iOAT may be feasible and results may inform the development of a study to test the efficacy and safety of such an intervention. Future work should also examine acceptability among people with severe OUD in North America. Our review was limited by the quality of included studies., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background and Aims: Fentanyl is primarily responsible for the current phase of the overdose epidemic in North America. Despite the benefits of treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), there are limited data on the association between fentanyl, MOUD type and treatment engagement. The objectives of this analysis were to measure the impact of baseline fentanyl exposure on initiation and discontinuation of MOUD among individuals with prescription-type opioid use disorder (POUD)., Design, Setting and Participants: Secondary analysis of a Canadian multi-site randomized pragmatic trial conducted between 2017 and 2020. Of the 269 randomized participants, 65.4% were male, 67.3% self-identified as white and 55.4% had a positive fentanyl urine drug test (UDT) at baseline. Fentanyl-exposed participants were more likely to be younger, to self-identify as non-white, to be unemployed or homeless and to be currently using stimulants than non-fentanyl-exposed participants., Interventions: Flexible take-home dosing buprenorphine/naloxone or supervised methadone models of care for 24 weeks., Measurements: Outcomes were (1) MOUD initiation and (2) time to (a) assigned and (b) overall MOUD discontinuation. Independent variables were baseline fentanyl UDT (predictor) and assigned MOUD (effect modifier)., Findings: Overall, 209 participants (77.7%) initiated MOUD. In unadjusted analyses, fentanyl exposure was associated with reduced likelihood of treatment initiation [odds ratio (OR) = 0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.08-0.36] and shorter median times in assigned [20 versus 168 days, hazard ratio (HR) = 3.61, 95% CI = 2.52-5.17] and any MOUD (27 versus 168 days, HR = 3.32, 95% CI = 2.30-4.80). The negative effects were no longer statistically significant in adjusted models, and no interaction between fentanyl and MOUD was observed for any of the outcomes (all P > 0.05)., Conclusions: Both buprenorphine/naloxone and methadone may be appropriate treatment options for people with prescription-type opioid use disorder regardless of fentanyl exposure. Other characteristics of fentanyl-exposed individuals appear to be driving the association with poorer treatment outcomes., (© 2022 Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Importance: Retention in buprenorphine therapy is associated with a lower risk of opioid overdose. Nevertheless, many patients discontinue treatment, and there is limited evidence to guide buprenorphine tapering., Objective: To understand what prescribing characteristics are associated with opioid overdose following buprenorphine taper., Design, Setting, and Participants: This is a population-based, retrospective, cohort study of adults who were maintained on buprenorphine for at least 60 days and underwent a buprenorphine taper. The study was conducted in the Canadian province of Ontario, using linked administrative health data. New buprenorphine treatment episodes were accrued between January 1, 2013, and January 1, 2019, and the maximum follow-up was April 30, 2020. Data analysis was performed from December 2020 to August 2022., Exposures: The primary exposure of interest was time to taper initiation (≤1 year vs >1 year). Secondary exposures included mean rate of taper, percentage days during which the dose was decreasing, and taper duration., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measure was time to fatal or nonfatal opioid overdose within 18 months following treatment discontinuation., Results: Among 5774 individuals, the median (IQR) age at index date was 34 (28-44) years, and 3462 individuals (60.0%) were male. Time to taper initiation longer than 1 year vs 1 year or less (6.73 vs 10.35 overdoses per 100 person-years; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.69; 95% CI, 0.48-0.997), a lower mean rate of taper (≤2 mg per month, 6.95 overdoses per 100 person-years; >2 to ≤4 mg per month, 11.48 overdoses per 100 person-years; >4 mg per month, 17.27 overdoses per 100 person-years; ≤2 mg per month vs >4 mg per month, aHR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46-0.91; >2 to ≤4 mg per month vs >4 mg per month, aHR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.51-0.93), and dose decreases in 1.75% or less of days vs more than 3.50% of days during the taper period (5.87 vs 13.87 overdoses per 100 person-years; aHR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.43-0.93) were associated with reduced risk of opioid overdose; however, taper duration was not., Conclusions and Relevance: In this retrospective cohort study, buprenorphine tapers undertaken after at least 1 year of therapy, a slower rate of taper, and a lower percentage of days during which the dose was decreasing were associated with a significantly lower risk of opioid overdose, regardless of taper duration. These findings underscore the importance of a carefully planned taper and could contribute to reduction in opioid-related overdose death.

Background: We assessed the impact of COVID-19, which includes the declaration of a state of emergency and subsequent release of pandemic-specific OAT guidance (March 17, 2020 to March 23, 2020) on the prevalence of OAT discontinuation., Methods: We conducted a population-based time series analysis using interventional autoregressive integrated moving average models among Ontario residents who were stable (>60 days of continuous use) and not yet stable on OAT. Specifically, we examined whether COVID-19 impacted the weekly percentage of individuals who discontinued OAT, overall and stratified by treatment type (methadone vs. buprenorphine/naloxone). Additionally, we compared demographic characteristics and patient outcomes among people stable on OAT who discontinued treatment during (March 17, 2020 to November 30, 2020) and prior (July 3, 2019 to March 16, 2020) to the pandemic., Results: The weekly prevalence of OAT discontinuation across the study period ranged between 0.6% and 1.1%, among those stable on treatment compared to 7.3% and 16.6%, among those not stable on treatment. Following COVID-19, there was no significant change in the percentage of Ontarians who discontinued OAT, regardless of whether they were stabilized on treatment. Among those stable on OAT, a similar proportion of patients restarted therapy and experienced opioid-related harm following an OAT discontinuation. However, mortality following OAT discontinuation must be noted, as approximately 1.4% and 0.8% of people who discontinued methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone respectively, died within 30 days of discontinuation., Conclusions: Trends in the prevalence of OAT discontinuation did not significantly change during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To characterize comparative risks and benefits of methadone versus buprenorphine/naloxone in a contemporary cohort where the unregulated drug supply is dominated by fentanyl., Design, Setting and Participants: Population-based propensity-score matched cohort study conducted in Ontario, Canada among people aged 18+ initiating opioid agonist therapy (OAT) for an opioid use disorder between October 2016 and December 2018 (n = 18 880)., Intervention: Initiation of methadone versus buprenorphine/naloxone., Measurements: The primary outcome was opioid overdose (fatal and non-fatal) while on treatment, with secondary outcomes including opioid overdose (first 30 days of treatment), treatment discontinuation, health-care interactions related to treatment of opioid use disorder, receiving a weekly supply of take-home doses and opioid overdose within 30 days of treatment discontinuation. Outcomes were assessed over 1 year., Findings: Overall, 7517 people initiating buprenorphine were matched to an equal number of methadone-treated individuals. Risk of opioid overdose while on treatment [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.50; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.37-0.68] or within the first 30 days of treatment (HR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.31-0.85) was lower among buprenorphine recipients compared to methadone recipients. In secondary analyses, people initiating buprenorphine had a higher risk of treatment discontinuation within the first year (median time to discontinuation 104 versus 265 days, HR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.37-1.49), had lower rates of health-care interactions for OUD (186.4 versus 254.3 per person-year; rate ratio = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.72-0.75), and a higher rate of receiving weekly take-home doses (HR = 2.33; 95% CI = 2.20-2.46). Overdose rates in the period following OAT discontinuation were higher than those observed while on treatment, but did not differ significantly by OAT type., Conclusions: Although treatment retention is higher among methadone recipients, overdose risk is also elevated compared to buprenorphine recipients. These findings demonstrate the benefits of any OAT on avoidance of overdose, particularly following treatment discontinuation and with the increasingly unpredictable drug supply in North America., (© 2022 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Background: In March 2020, the Ontario government declared a state of emergency due to the growing risk of COVID-19. In response, new guidance for the management of opioid agonist therapy (OAT) was released, which included the expansion of eligibility for take-home doses. We investigated the impact of these changes on trends in the distribution of take-home doses of OAT., Methods: We conducted a population-based time series analysis among residents of Ontario, Canada who were dispensed OAT between June 25, 2019 and November 30, 2020. For each week of the study period, we calculated the percentage of people dispensed (a) methadone and (b) buprenorphine/naloxone by the number of take-home doses received. We used interventional autoregressive integrated moving average models to estimate changes in the percentage of people dispensed each category of take-home doses in the weeks following the declaration of the state of emergency and release of the OAT dispensing guidance., Results: Following the state of emergency and release of the OAT dispensing guidance, there was a significant increase in the percentage of Ontarians dispensed 7 to 13 (3.6% increase; p = 0.033) and 14 or more (0.8% increase; p<0.001) take-home doses of methadone, and in the percentage of people dispensed 7 to 13 (4.3% increase; p = 0.001), 14 to 27 (2.8% increase; p<0.001), and 28 or more (0.3% increase; p = 0.008) take-home doses of buprenorphine/naloxone. There were significant decreases in the percentage of Ontarians receiving daily dispensed buprenorphine/naloxone (-3.1%; p = 0.001), as well as the percentage dispensed 1 to 6 take-home doses of methadone (-4.5%; p = 0.001) and buprenorphine/naloxone (-4.9%; p = 0.001)., Conclusion: The new guidance for dispensing OAT in Ontario resulted in increases in the duration of take-home doses of methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone supplied. However, given that changes were small, strategies to improve retention in OAT and ensure equitable access to take-home dosing should continue., Competing Interests: Declarations of Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Jennifer Wyman participated as an author in the opioid agonist therapy guidance document that was released in Ontario in March 2020 and is referred to in this manuscript. No other authors have any competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Importance: During the COVID-19 pandemic, modified guidance for opioid agonist therapy (OAT) allowed prescribers to increase the number of take-home doses to promote treatment retention. Whether this was associated with an increased risk of overdose is unclear., Objective: To evaluate whether increased take-home doses of OAT early in the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with treatment retention and opioid-related harm., Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective propensity-weighted cohort study of 21 297 people actively receiving OAT on March 21, 2020, in Ontario, Canada. Changes in OAT take-home dose frequency were assessed between March 22, 2020, and April 21, 2020, and individuals were observed for up to 180 days to assess outcomes (last date of follow-up, October 18, 2020)., Exposures: Exposure was defined as extended take-home doses in the first month of the pandemic within each of 4 cohorts based on OAT type and baseline take-home dose frequency (daily dispensed methadone, 5-6 take-home doses of methadone, daily dispensed buprenorphine/naloxone, and 5-6 take-home doses of buprenorphine/naloxone)., Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcomes were opioid overdose, interruption in OAT, and OAT discontinuation., Results: Among 16 862 methadone and 4435 buprenorphine/naloxone recipients, the median age ranged between 38 and 42 years, and 29.1% to 38.2% were women. Among individuals receiving daily dispensed methadone (n = 5852), initiation of take-home doses was significantly associated with lower risks of opioid overdose (6.9% vs 9.5%/person-year; weighted hazard ratio [HR], 0.73 [95% CI, 0.56-0.96]), treatment discontinuation (51.0% vs 63.6%/person-year; weighted HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.72-0.90]), and treatment interruption (19.0% vs 23.9%/person-year; weighted HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.67-0.95]) compared with no change in take-home doses. Among individuals receiving daily dispensed buprenorphine/naloxone (n = 662), there was no significant difference in any outcomes between exposure groups. Among individuals receiving weekly dispensed OAT (n = 11 010 for methadone; n = 3773 for buprenorphine/naloxone), extended take-home methadone doses were significantly associated with lower risks of OAT discontinuation (14.1% vs 19.6%/person-year; weighted HR, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.62-0.84]) and interruption in therapy (5.1% vs 7.4%/person-year; weighted HR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.53-0.90]), and extended take-home doses of buprenorphine/naloxone were significantly associated with lower risk of interruption in therapy (9.5% vs 12.9%/person-year; weighted HR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.56-0.99]) compared with no change in take-home doses. Other primary outcomes were not significantly different between groups., Conclusions and Relevance: In Ontario, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic, dispensing of increased take-home doses of opioid agonist therapy was significantly associated with lower rates of treatment interruption and discontinuation among some subsets of patients receiving opioid agonist therapy, and there were no statistically significant increases in opioid-related overdoses over 6 months of follow-up. These findings may be susceptible to residual confounding and should be interpreted cautiously.

Abstract: Reports have emerged of abrupt tapering among recipients of long-term prescription opioids to conform new prescribing guidelines. We conducted a population-based, repeated cross-sectional time-series study among very high-dose (≥200 MME) opioid recipients in Ontario, Canada, to examine changes in the monthly prevalence of rapid tapering from 2014 to 2018, defined as recipients experiencing either a ≥50% reduction in daily doses or abrupt discontinuation sustained for 30 days. Interventional autoregressive integrated moving average models were used to test for significant changes following key guidelines and drug policies and programs. A sensitivity analysis examined rapid tapering sustained for 90 days. The monthly prevalence of rapid tapering events was stable from January 2014 to September 2016 (average monthly prevalence: 1.4%) but increased from 1.4% in October 2016 to 1.8% in April 2017 (P = 0.001), coincident with Ontario's Fentanyl Patch-for-Patch Return Program implementation. Transient spikes in the prevalence of rapid tapering also occurred 2 months after Ontario's delisting of publicly funded high-strength opioids and the release of updated Canadian Opioid Prescribing Guideline for Chronic Pain, reaching 2.3% in March 2017 and July 2017, respectively. However, this prevalence decreased to 1.2% in December 2018 (P < 0.0001). Although the prevalence of abrupt opioid discontinuation was lower, similar trends were observed. Our sensitivity analysis examining long-lasting rapid tapering found similar trends but lower prevalence, with no changes in complete discontinuation. These temporary increases in rapid tapering events highlight the need for improved communication and evidence-based resources for prescribers to minimize negative consequences of evolving policies and guidelines., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Pain.)

Introduction: Buprenorphine-naloxone is recommended as a first-line agent for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Although initiation of buprenorphine in the emergency department (ED) is evidence based, barriers to implementation persist. A comprehensive review and critical analysis of both facilitators of and barriers to buprenorphine initiation in ED has yet to be published. Our objectives are (1) to map the implementation of buprenorphine induction pathway literature and synthesise what we know about buprenorphine pathways in EDs and (2) to identify gaps in this literature with respect to barriers and facilitators of implementation., Methods and Analysis: We will conduct a scoping review to comprehensively search the literature, map the evidence and identify gaps in knowledge. The review will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Protocols Extension for Scoping Reviews and guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institution for conduct of scoping reviews. We will search Medline, APA, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase and IBSS from 1995 to present and the search will be restricted to English and French language publications. Citations will be screened in Covidence by two trained reviewers. Discrepancies will be mediated by consensus. Data will be synthesised using a hybrid, inductive-deductive approach, informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research as well as critical theory to guide further interpretation., Ethics and Dissemination: This review does not require ethics approval. A group of primary knowledge users, including clinicians and people with lived experience, will be involved in the dissemination of findings including publication in peer-reviewed journals. Results will inform future research, current quality improvement efforts in affiliated hospitals, and aide the creation of a more robust ED response to the escalating overdose crisis., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Syringe sharing places street-involved young people at risk of acquiring HIV and hepatitis C. While markers of economic marginalization, such as homelessness, have been linked with syringe sharing and have led to targeted interventions, the relationship between syringe sharing and other markers of economic vulnerability, such as sex work, are not well documented among young people. This study examines whether those engaged in sex work are at increased risk of syringe borrowing and syringe lending among street-involved youth who use injection drugs in Vancouver, Canada. Between September 2005 and May 2014, data was collected from the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS), a prospective cohort of street involved youth aged 14-26. Generalized estimating equations with a confounding model building approach was used to examine the relationship between sex work and syringe borrowing and lending. 498 youth reported injecting drugs at some point during the study period and were therefore included in the analysis. In multivariable analysis, youth who engaged in sex work were at an elevated risk of both syringe borrowing (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.17, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.40-3.36) and syringe lending (AOR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.07-2.59). Our study found that youth engaged in street-based sex work were at a significantly higher risk of both syringe borrowing and lending among youth who use injection drugs in Vancouver. Ready access to clean syringes, safer working conditions for sex workers to enable risk reduction measures, and increased access to addiction treatment are identified as promising opportunities for reducing syringe sharing in this setting.

Background: Inability to access opioid agonist therapy (OAT) in correctional settings has previously been reported in Vancouver, Canada, and is associated with harms among people with opioid use disorder (OUD), including overdose death. We investigated the prevalence and correlates of OAT utilization within correctional settings among incarcerated persons with OUD in Vancouver., Methods: Data were derived from three prospective cohorts of people who use drugs in Vancouver between 2005 and 2016. Using multivariable generalized estimating equations, we examined factors associated with OAT utilization among participants with OUD reporting incarceration in the past six months., Results: Among 597 eligible participants, 207 (34.7%) contributed 325 reports of having utilized OAT while incarcerated. Of those, 295 (90.8%) were continuations and 30 (9.2%) were new initiations of OAT while incarcerated. For those currently on OAT (at the time of interview), in multivariable analyses, non-fatal overdose (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.49, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.29-0.82) and daily prescription opioid use (AOR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.20-0.85) remained independently and negatively associated with having utilized OAT while incarcerated. For those not currently on OAT, none of the variables considered had significant associations with utilization of OAT while incarcerated., Conclusions: Utilization of OAT in correctional settings was low in our sample. Utilization of OAT was significantly and negatively associated with overdose and ongoing prescription opioid misuse if OAT was continued upon release from correctional settings. Findings underscore the urgent need for improved utilization of OAT in correctional settings, and linkage to community care to prevent harms such as overdose., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phenomenon : Increasing numbers of medical students from high-income countries are undertaking international medical electives (IMEs) during their training. Much has been written about the benefits of these experiences for the student, and concerns have been raised regarding the burden of IMEs on host communities. The voices of physicians from low- and middle-income countries who supervise IMEs have not been explored in depth. The current study sought to investigate host-physician perspectives on IMEs. Approach : Host supervisors were recruited by convenience sampling through students travelling abroad for IMEs during the summer of 2012. From 2012 through 2014, 11 semistructured interviews were conducted by telephone with host supervisors from Nepal, Uganda, Ghana, Guyana, and Kenya. Participants were invited to describe their motivations for hosting IMEs and their experiences of the benefits and harms of IMEs. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and checked for accuracy. An initial coding framework was developed and underwent multiple revisions, after which analytic categories were derived using conventional qualitative content analysis. Findings : For host supervisors, visits from international medical students provided a window into the resource-rich medical practice of high-income countries, and supervisors positioned themselves, their education, and clinical expertise against perceived standards of the international students' context. Hosting IMEs also contributed to supervisors' identities as educators connected to a global community. Supervisors described the challenge of helping students navigate their distress when confronting global health inequity. Finally, the desire for increasingly reciprocal relationships was expressed as a hope for the future. Insights : IMEs can be formative for host supervisors' identities and are used to benchmark host institutions compared with international medical standards. Reciprocity was articulated as essential for IMEs moving forward.

Introduction: Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. There are efficacious behavioral and pharmacological options for smoking cessation including three FDA approved therapies - nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline and bupropion. Nevertheless, uptake of smoking cessation treatments continues to be poor and there is a need for novel smoking cessation treatments. Areas covered: This article reviews the biobehavioral basis of nicotine addiction, its implications for smoking cessation treatments, the various neurotransmitter systems involved in nicotine addictive effects, and their potential therapeutic value. Included are discussions around the role of genetic factors in predicting response to pharmacotherapy and what we know about appropriate application of pharmacotherapy and behavioral interventions for tobacco use disorder. The evidence for harm reduction measures in individuals who are not willing or able to quit smoking is also reviewed. Expert commentary: Many neurotransmitter system targets have been investigated as a result of our understanding of the underlying neurobiology of tobacco use disorder, and there remain important targets that have yet to be fully explored. rTMS or combination therapies are proposed as possible novel strategies to improve smoking cessation.

Introduction: Among people with opioid use disorder (OUD), stigma is a known barrier to accessing treatment and has negative impacts on physical and mental health. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors associated with self-stigma and perceived stigma severity among people with OUD entering an inpatient detoxification program., Methods: Between December 2015 and August 2016, consecutive persons seeking inpatient opioid detoxification were asked to complete a survey that included sociodemographic, drug use, treatment variables, an 8-item General Self-Stigma scale, and a 3-item Treatment Stigma scale. Correlates of stigma severity were estimated using ordinary least squares regression., Results: The 407 participants had an average age of 32.4 (±8.79) years, with 72.2% male and 84.5% non-Hispanic White. Two-thirds had ever received medication-assisted treatment for OUD and 323 (79.4%) had ever been admitted to a detoxification program. Adjusted mean General Self-Stigma scores were positively and significantly associated with recent injection drug use (b = 0.262, P = 0.032), and having previously entered detoxification programs (b = 0.330, P = 0.016). Adjusted mean Treatment Stigma scores were positively and significantly associated with years of education (b = 0.142, P = 0.002), having ever been prescribed naltrexone (b = 0.277, P = 0.025) and having previously entered detoxification programs (b = 0.389, P = 0.007)., Conclusion: People with OUD presenting for inpatient detoxification struggle with experiences of self and perceived stigma. Strikingly, people with previous detoxification program admission had higher levels of stigma on both scales. Our findings suggest an opportunity for targeted intervention in this group.

The sharing of previously used syringes is associated with the transmission of Hepatitis C and HIV. This longitudinal study examines syringe borrowing and syringe lending within a prospective cohort of street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada. From September 2005 to May 2014, data were collected from the At-Risk Youth Study, a cohort of street-involved youth age 14-26 at enrollment, and analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Among 505 participants, 142 (28.1%) reported syringe borrowing and 132 (26.1%) reported syringe lending during the study period. In separate multivariable analyses, having difficulty finding clean needles and homelessness were significantly associated with syringe borrowing (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.28, 95% CI 1.66-3.12 and AOR = 1.52, CI 1.05-2.21, respectively) and syringe lending (AOR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.32-2.71 and AOR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.11-2.44, respectively) (all p values < 0.05). Findings highlight gaps in syringe access for vulnerable young injectors and suggest that service delivery for youth may be suboptimal. Further examination of how needle distribution efforts might be improved to better meet the needs of young people is warranted.

Background: Vancouver is an international leader in implementing interventions to reduce harms related to drug use. However, street-involved young people who use drugs continue to be vulnerable to overdose death, hepatitis C (HCV) infection, and high rates of syringe sharing. To better understand this in the context of the intensive public health response, we examined how young people, who are involved in the 'street drug scene', understood, experienced and engaged with harm reduction., Methods: Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2013 with 13 young people (ages 17-28) recruited from the At-Risk Youth Study, a prospective cohort of street-involved and drug-using young people. These interviews were embedded within a larger, eight-year program of ethnographic research and explored participants' understandings of harm reduction, their use of specific services, and their ideas about improving their day-to-day lives. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and a thematic analysis was performed., Results: Young peoples' ideas about harm reduction were diverse and expansive. They articulated the limitations of existing programs, indicating that while they are positioned to reduce the risk of HIV and HCV transmission, they offer little meaningful support to improve young peoples' broader life chances. Young people described strategies to mitigate risk and harm in their own lives, including transitioning to drugs deemed less harmful and attempting to gain access to drug treatment. Finally, young people indicated that spatial considerations (e.g., distance from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside) strongly determined access to services., Conclusions: In Vancouver, a large, well established harm reduction infrastructure seeks to reduce HIV and HCV transmission among street-involved young people. However, young peoples' multiple understandings, experiences and engagements with harm reduction in this setting illustrate the limitations of the existing infrastructure in improving their broader life chances., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Increasing numbers of North Koreans are fleeing their country due to economic insecurity and political persecution, with over 1000 North Koreans Refugee (NKR) claims in Canada in the past decade. There is little published on their health. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology, we investigated NKR health status through a retrospective chart review of 1022 patients rostered at a Toronto refugee clinic between December 2011 and June 2014. The health status of 117 NKRs was compared to that of 905 other refugees seen during the same period. There were lower rates of chronic diseases, including obesity and elevated blood pressure, among NKRs. Conversely, some infectious diseases were more prevalent, including hepatitis B and chlamydia. Female NKRs had higher rates of abnormal cervical cytology. This study uniquely uses CBPR methodology to examine the health of NKRs, and can help guide targeted interventions in this population.

Background: Ongoing drug use remains a barrier to HIV and HCV treatment. We examined the occurrence and correlates of drug use cessation among HIV-HCV co-infected drug users participating in HIV care., Methods: Participants from the Canadian Co-infection Cohort reporting drug use (injecting drugs and/or smoking crack) with at least two follow-up visits were included (n=521 (43%), 1832 visits). Socio-demographics, behavioural, and health information were collected at each six-month visit. Associations with cessation (no drug use since last visit) were examined using non-linear mixed effects logistic regression models with random intercepts., Results: During follow-up, 361 (69%) participants ceased using drugs. Having a fixed address (aOR [adjusted odds ratio] 1.73, CI [95% confidence interval] 1.02-2.96) and smoking crack without injecting drugs (aOR 3.10, CI 2.05-4.71) were positively associated. Living alone (aOR 0.47, CI 0.35-0.63), current tobacco use (aOR 0.41, CI 0.26-0.64), hazardous alcohol drinking (aOR 0.67, CI 0.49-0.91), snorting drugs (aOR 0.52, CI 0.37-0.74), having a greater exposure to addiction programmes (aOR 0.88, CI 0.81-0.94), having been recruited in Quebec or Nova Scotia (aOR 0.41, CI 0.25-0.66), and British Columbia or Alberta (aOR 0.51, CI 0.32-0.82) were negatively associated. Various socio-demographic (age, education) and health-related (HIV duration, care adherence) factors were not associated., Conclusion: Drug use cessation among HIV-HCV co-infected persons is relatively common in this cohort. Stable housing and supportive living situations seem to be important facilitators for drug use cessation in this population. Greater efforts should be made to retain patients in addiction treatment programmes., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Context: An increasing number of medical students are engaging in international medical electives, the majority of which involve travel from northern, higher-income countries to southern, lower-income countries. Existing research has identified benefits to students participating in these experiences. However, reports on the impacts on host communities are largely absent from the literature., Objectives: The current study aims to identify host country perspectives on international medical electives., Methods: Questionnaires were delivered to a convenience sample of supervisors hosting international elective students (n = 39) from a Canadian medical school. Responses represented 22 countries. Conventional content analysis of the qualitative data was used to identify themes in host supervisor perspectives on the impact of international medical electives., Results: Host country supervisors identified that in addition to the benefits realised by the elective students, supervisors and their institutions also benefited from hosting Canadian students. Although some host supervisors denied the occurrence of any harm, others expressed concern that international elective students may negatively impact the local community in terms of resource use and patient care. Host country supervisors also identified potential harms to travelling students including health risks and emotional distress. Ideas for improving international electives were identified and were largely centred around increasing the bidirectional flow of students by establishing formal partnerships between institutions., Conclusions: This research provides important insights into the impacts of international medical student electives from the perspective of host country supervisors. This research may be a starting point for further research and the establishment of meaningful partnerships that incorporate the self-identified needs of receiving institutions, especially those in lower-income settings., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: A recent increase in reports of acute hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected men who have sex with men (MSM), with the sole risk factor being sexual exposure, has led to routine screening and targeted prevention requests for this population; current evidence for this necessity is unclear., Objective: A systematic review was conducted to assess the incidence of HCV infection among studies conducted in HIV-positive and/or HIV-negative MSM to explore the implications for routine HCV screening., Data Sources: The MEDLINE, EMBASE and BIOSYS databases were searched for the period January 2000 to May 2012, yielding 21 studies. Six conferences were hand-searched for the same period yielding four abstracts., Study Selection: Only studies in English presenting incidence rates of HCV and specifying HIV status were included., Data Abstraction: Data were abstracted by two authors using predefined data fields. The STROBE checklist was used to assess study quality., Data Synthesis: Data were divided into HIV-negative MSM and HIV-positive MSM subgroups, and HCV incidence density measurements were pooled. Using a DerSimonian-Laird random effects model, pooled incidence was 1.48/1000 person-years (95% CI 0.75 to 2.21) for the HIV-negative MSM subgroup. The HIV-positive MSM subgroup was at 4.1 times higher risk of acquiring HCV at 6.08/1000 person-years (95% CI 5.18 to 6.99). Studies directly comparing subgroups estimated a pooled risk difference of 3.45/1000 person-years (95% CI 1.63 to 5.27)., Conclusion: HIV-positive MSM were at higher risk for acute HCV infection than HIV-negative MSM, substantiating the need for routine screening initiatives. Insufficient evidence exists to warrant routine screening of HIV-negative MSM, except on a case-by-case basis, such as high-risk sexual behaviour.