Prescription opioid utilization patterns, and associated outcomes, among privately insured patients prescribed opioids to manage pain associated with osteoarthritis.

Objective: To describe utilization patterns, negative clinical outcomes and economic burden of patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and/or knee who received a prescription for tramadol or non-tramadol opioids vs. non-opioid drugs.

Methods: Optum Healthcare Solutions, Inc.

A comparison of the Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 definitions for assessment of mortality risk in dogs with parvovirus.

Objective: To evaluate the use of a modified Sepsis-3 (mSepsis-3) definition compared to the currently used modified Sepsis-2 (mSepsis-2) definition to determine whether the mSepsis-2 or mSepsis-3 stratifications were able to identify populations of dogs ultimately more likely to die from canine parvovirus (CPV) infection.

Design: Retrospective, January 2009 to March 2020.

Setting: A private, small animal, urban, referral emergency and specialty hospital.

Clinical and economic burden of prescribing tramadol and other opioids for patients with osteoarthritis in a commercially insured population in the United States.

In 2019, the American College of Rheumatology conditionally recommended tramadol and conditionally recommended against nontramadol opioids for patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis. Although tramadol is known to be less prone to opioid use disorders, little is known about the differing magnitude of negative clinical outcomes, health care resource utilization, and costs of tramadol relative to nontramadol opioids. Administrative claims records for commercially insured patients with osteoarthritis who were prescribed opioids were used to compare clinical and cost outcomes during a 3-year follow-up period by conducting a pre-post analysis and a matched case-cohort analysis.

A harm reduction model to assess the impact of new treatments for pain over standard of care among patients with osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects millions of adults in the United States and can result in substantial pain, functional impairment, and significant clinical and economic burden. To manage chronic pain associated with OA, treatment guidelines recommend a variety of pharmacologic treatments, including traditional oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (COX-2s), and opioids. While these drug treatments can be effective at pain management, they are also associated with significant clinical and economic burden.

Risk of Thromboembolic Events and Associated Risk Factors, Including Treatments, in Patients with Immune-mediated Diseases.

Purpose: This study assessed the association between thromboembolic events (TEs) and immune-mediated diseases (IMDs) and characterized the risk profile of TEs among patients with IMDs.

Methods: An administrative claims database (2014-2018) was used to identify adults with ≥2 diagnoses on different dates for ≥1 IMD (IMD cohort; ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus); patients without an IMD diagnosis were assigned to the non-IMD cohort. Patients in the IMD cohort were matched 1:1 to patients in the non-IMD cohort on age, sex, and index date.

Assessment of Work Loss Associated With Prescription-Related Opioid Use Disorder: A Retrospective Analysis of Claims Data.

Objective: Quantify work loss and costs associated with prescription opioid use disorder (OUD) from the employer perspective.

Methods: Retrospective claims analysis to compare missed work days and associated costs between employees with and without an OUD diagnosis in a 12-month period.

Results: Two thousand three hundred eleven matched-pairs of employees were compared.

Health Halo Effects from Product Titles and Nutrient Content Claims in the Context of "Protein" Bars.

Research on front-of-package (FOP) labeling demonstrates that nutrient content claims (e.g., "low fat") can lead consumers to perceive foods as healthier in general-effects that have been interpreted using halo effect theories of impression formation.