Health care utilization and expenditures among Medicaid beneficiaries with neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury

Abstract

Jay M Margolis,1 Paul Juneau,1 Alesia Sadosky,2 Joseph C Cappelleri,3 Thomas N Bryce,4 Edward C Nieshoff5 1Truven Health Analytics, Bethesda, MD, USA; 2Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA; 3Pfizer Inc., Groton, CT, USA; 4Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; 5Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA Background: The study aimed to evaluate health care resource utilization (HRU) and costs for neuropathic pain (NeP) secondary to spinal cord injury (SCI) among Medicaid beneficiaries. Methods: The retrospective longitudinal cohort study used Medicaid beneficiary claims with SCI and evidence of NeP (SCI-NeP cohort) matched with a cohort without NeP (SCI-only cohort). Patients had continuous Medicaid eligibility 6 months pre- and 12 months postindex, defined by either a diagnosis of central NeP (ICD-9-CM code 338.0x) or a pharmacy claim for an NeP-related antiepileptic or antidepressant drug within 12 months following first SCI diagnosis. Demographics, clinical characteristics, HRU, and expenditures were compared between cohorts. Results: Propensity score-matched cohorts each consisted of 546 patients. Postindex percentages of patients with physician office visits, emergency department visits, SCI- and pain-related procedures, and outpatient prescription utilization were all significantly higher for SCI-NeP (P<0.001). Using regression models to account for covariates, adjusted mean expenditures were US$47,518 for SCI-NeP and US$30,150 for SCI only, yielding incremental costs of US$17,369 (95% confidence interval US$9,753 to US$26,555) for SCI-NeP. Factors significantly associated with increased cost included SCI type, trauma-related SCI, and comorbidity burden. Conclusion: Significantly higher HRU and total costs were incurred by Medicaid patients with NeP secondary to SCI compared with matched SCI-only patients. Keywords: spinal cord injuries, burden of illness