Coates G, Clewes P, Lohan C, Stevenson H, Wood R, Tritton T, Knaggs R, Dickson AJ, Walsh D. Health economic impact of moderate-to-severe chronic pain associated with osteoarthritis in England: a retrospective analysis of linked primary and secondary care data.
BMJ Open 2023;
13:e067545. [PMID:
37438077 DOI:
10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067545]
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Despite the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) in England, few studies have examined the health economic impact of chronic pain associated with OA. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic pain associated with OA and matched controls without known OA.
DESIGN
Retrospective, longitudinal, observational cohort study.
SETTING
Electronic records extracted from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD primary care database linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set.
PARTICIPANTS
Patients (cases; n=5931) ≥18 years and with existing diagnosis of OA and moderate-to-severe pain associated with their OA, and controls matched on age, sex, comorbidity burden, general practitioner (GP) practice and availability of HES data.
INTERVENTIONS
None.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES
Total healthcare resource use (HCRU) and direct healthcare costs during 0-6, 0-12, 0-24 and 0-36 months of follow-up. Secondary outcomes measures included pharmacological management and time to total joint replacement.
RESULTS
Patients with moderate-to-severe chronic pain associated with OA used significantly more healthcare services versus matched controls, reflected by higher HCRU and significantly higher direct costs. During the first 12 months' follow-up, cases had significantly more GP consultations, outpatient attendances, emergency department visits and inpatient stays than matched controls (all p<0.0001). Total mean costs incurred by cases during 0-12 months' follow-up were five times higher in cases versus controls (mean (SD): £4199 (£3966) vs £781 (£2073), respectively). Extensive cycling through pharmacological therapies was observed; among cases, 2040 (34.4%), 1340 (22.6%), 841 (14.2%), 459 (7.7%) and 706 (11.9%) received 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20 and >20 lines of therapy, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
This wide-ranging, longitudinal, observational study of real-world primary and secondary care data demonstrates the impact of moderate-to-severe chronic pain associated with OA in patients compared with matched controls. Further studies are required to fully quantify the health economic burden of moderate-to-severe pain associated with OA.
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