COMPARATIVE STUDY
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Opioid use patterns and health care resource utilization in patients prescribed opioid therapy with and without constipation.

Managed Care 2010 March
PURPOSE: The main objective of this study was to compare the opioid use patterns, resource utilization, and costs of patients on opioid therapy who have constipation with those who do not.

DESIGN: Retrospective, observational matched cohort design

METHODOLOGY: Patients initiating opioid therapy between Jan. 1, 1999 and Dec. 31, 2005 were identified from a longitudinal insurance claims database. Patients had > or = 30 days of opioid use and continuous plan coverage for > or = 6 months before and > or = 12 months after their index date, defined as the date of the first pharmacy claim for an opioid. Constipation was defined as having one or more ICD-9 codes of 564.0 during the follow-up period. Patterns of opioid use and resource utilization were compared between patients with constipation and a demographically matched (1:1) cohort of opioid initiators without consti- pation using t-tests and Chi-square (chi2) tests.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We identified 39,485 patients, of whom 2,519 (6.4%) had constipation. Most patients with constipation were female (66%) and > or = 45 years old (68%). Compared to controls, the constipation group had significantly higher rates of concurrent use of > or = 2 opioids (p < 0.0001), discontinuation, and switching between opioids. Patients with constipation had statistically significant higher hospital admissions, emergency room visits, home health services, nursing home care, physician office visits, other outpatient/ ancillary care, and laboratory tests. Patients with constipation had significantly higher mean all-cause costs for emergency, physician visits, nursing facility, home health, and prescription drug services compared to patients without constipation.

CONCLUSION: Opioid-treated patients with constipation were found to have significant differences in opioid use patterns and significantly higher health care utilization and associated costs.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app