RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Estimate the prevalence of the hepatitis B (HBV) infection, hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its coexistence in intravenous drug users, in order to start afterwards a vaccination and sanitary training programmes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Intravenous drug users attended in a health centre and in the drugs addition deshabitation centre of reference located in a marginal urban quarter. Patients were detected from the health centre. During one year (June 1995-1996) facts were collected. The age, sex, consumption, type, administration mechanism and also the described serologies were analysed. It has been carried out descriptive statistics and applied the chi-square [correction of square-ji] test. RESULTS: A study of 355 patients, 295 (83.1%) males and 60 (16.9%) females was carried out. The average age was 28.6 years (SD = 6.5). All serologies in 113 (31.8%) were available. The positive serologies for HIV, 64.6% for HBV and 64.4% had 71.1% for HCV. The three of them coexisted in a 35.4% between HIV, 39.1% of them were VHB and 88% VHC. 49.1% were VHB and VHC. The infection from any of the three virus was related with intravenous administration mechanism, but not with sex or drug type. CONCLUSION: The infection caused from the virus above mentioned is frequent in drug users. A not negligible percentage of patients could benefit from the hepatitis B vaccine administration (67.6%) or other preventive measures.