Utilization of pain medications and its effect on quality of life, health care utilization and associated costs in individuals with chronic back pain.

Purpose: Pain medications are widely prescribed to treat chronic back pain (CBP). However, the effect of using pain medications on individuals with CBP has received very little attention.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the patterns of pharmacological treatment in the population with CBP and assess its impact on quality of life, health care utilization and associated costs in USA.

Patients and methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional data obtained from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), from 2011 to 2015, were utilized for this study. Pharmacological treatment for CBP was categorized into three mutually exclusive categories: 1) opioids only, 2) nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) only, 3) opioids and NSAIDs (combination). The effect of the use of these treatments was also evaluated.

Results: A total of 5,203 individuals with CBP were identified. Of these, 2,568 (49.4%) utilized opioids only, 1,448 (27.8%) utilized NSAIDs only and 1,187 (22.8%) utilized both pain medications. Lower health-related quality-of-life scores on both the Short Form Health Survey-12 version 2 (SF-12v2) components (mental component summary score: 44.42 vs 46.67, P <0.001; physical component summary score: 35.34 vs 40.11, P <0.001) were observed for the opioid-only group compared to the NSAID-only group. In addition, individuals utilizing opioids only had greater utilization of inpatient services, office-based services, outpatient services and emergency room visits along with higher related health care costs.

Conclusion: Future researchers need to investigate the long-term risks and benefits of opioids, and policy makers should evaluate the prescribing guidelines to aim for a more patient-centered care.