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.

Medication use and comorbidities in an increasingly younger osteoarthritis population: an 18-year retrospective open-cohort study.

Objectives: As understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment strategies for osteoarthritis (OA) evolves, it is important to understand how patient factors are also changing. Our goal was to examine demographics and known risk factors of patients with OA over time.

Design: Open-cohort retrospective study using electronic health records.

Problematic opioid use among osteoarthritis patients with chronic post-operative pain after joint replacement: analyses from the BISCUITS study.

Objectives: Opioids are commonly used to manage pain, despite an increased risk of adverse events and complications when used against recommendations. This register study uses data of osteoarthritis (OA) patients with joint replacement surgery to identify and characterize problematic opioid use (POU) prescription patterns.

Methods: The study population included adult patients diagnosed with OA in specialty care undergoing joint replacement surgery in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden during 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2014.

Risk Factors Associated with Falls and Fractures Following Prescription of Opioids Among Privately Insured Patients with Osteoarthritis.

While prior research has shown that patients with osteoarthritis (OA) who are prescribed opioids have higher rates of falls and fractures following drug initiation, there is a limited body of work establishing a comprehensive model of factors that influence the risk of falls or fractures among these patients. Opioids are associated with negative clinical outcomes, including increased risk of falls and fractures. This study assessed the frequency, treatment characteristics, and risk factors associated with falls or fractures among patients with OA taking opioids.

Factors influencing quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis: analyses from the BISCUITS study.

Objectives: Osteoarthritis can have a profound effect on patients' quality of life. The Burden of Disease and Management of Osteoarthritis and Chronic Low Back Pain: Health Care Utilization and Sick Leave in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark (BISCUITS) study aimed to describe the impact of osteoarthritis on quality of life and determine the association with factors such as pain severity and pharmacological treatment.

Methods: An observational study was performed with a cross-sectional design including patients with a confirmed osteoarthritis diagnosis enrolled in the National Quality Register for Better management of patients with Osteoarthritis (BOA) between 2016 and 2017 in Sweden.

All-Cause Health Care and Work Loss Burden Associated With Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug and Opioid Treatment in Employed Patients With Osteoarthritis.

Introduction: This study estimated all-cause health care resource utilization (HRU) and costs and work loss outcomes associated with pain management of employed patients with osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee.

Methods: Optum Health Care Solutions data were analyzed for employed patients prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, tramadol, or nontramadol opioids following diagnoses of osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee. A pre-post design was used to evaluate changes in all-cause HRU and costs, and work loss days and associated costs.

A Retrospective Claims-Based Study Evaluating Clinical and Economic Burden Among Patients With Moderate to Severe Osteoarthritis Pain in the United States.

There has been limited evaluation of medication adherence, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and healthcare costs over time in patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and stratification by pain severity level has not been reported. Assessing such longitudinal changes may be useful to patients and healthcare providers for tracking disease progression, informing treatment options, and employing strategies to optimize patient outcomes. To characterize treatment patterns, HCRU, and costs over time in patients with moderate to severe (MTS) OA pain in the United States.

Drug utilization, clinical and economic outcomes of patients with osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee treated with long-term use of traditional NSAIDs, topical NSAIDs, and COX-2 inhibitors.

Objectives: To describe and compare baseline characteristics, healthcare and drug utilization, and negative clinical outcomes of commercially-insured patients diagnosed with OA of the hip and/or knee who initiated treatment on traditional oral NSAIDs (tNSAIDs), topical NSAIDs, or cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (COX-2s).

Methods: A commercial claims database (1/2012-3/2017) was used to identify patients ≥18 years old, with ≥2 diagnoses of hip and/or knee OA, and ≥90 days supply of NSAIDs. Patients were assigned to cohorts based on the type of NSAID initially prescribed and observed in the 6 months before (baseline) and 36 months after (follow-up) the date of their first NSAID prescription after the first OA diagnosis.

Associations of Healthcare Utilization and Costs with Increasing Pain and Treatment Intensity Levels in Osteoarthritis Patients: An 18-Year Retrospective Study.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex disease, and prior studies have documented the health and economic burdens of patients with OA compared to those without OA. Our goal was to use two strategies to further stratify OA patients based on both pain and treatment intensity to examine healthcare utilization and costs using electronic records from 2001 to 2018 at a large integrated health system.

Methods: Adult patients with ≥1 pain numerical rating scale (NRS) and diagnosis of OA were included.

Management of chronic low back pain and the impact on patients' personal and professional lives: Results from an international patient survey.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of chronic low back pain (CLBP) on patients' personal and professional lives, and management strategies applied to treat CLBP.

Methods: A 60-question survey was developed, and respondents from 16 countries with a self-reported physician's diagnosis of CLBP were recruited via an online market research survey panel. Respondents were stratified as having mild, moderate, or severe pain.

Quantifying the Employer Burden of Persistent Musculoskeletal Pain at a Large Employer in the United Kingdom: A Non-interventional, Retrospective Study of Rolls-Royce Employee Data.

Objective: To quantify the burden of work-relevant persistent musculoskeletal (MSK) pain to a large UK employer.

Methods: A retrospective, longitudinal, analytical cohort study using linked Rolls-Royce data systems. Cases were employees with a MSK-related referral to occupational health; controls were age-, sex-, and job role-matched employees without such a referral.

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.

Moderate to Severe Osteoarthritis Pain and Its Impact on Patients in the United States: A National Survey.

Purpose: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common causes of chronic pain and a leading cause of disability in the US. The objective of this study was to examine the clinical and economic burden of OA by pain severity.

Patients And Methods: We used nationally representative survey data.

Comparing the Fiscal Consequences of Controlled and Uncontrolled Osteoarthritis Pain Applying a UK Public Economic Perspective.

Individuals experiencing osteoarthritis (OA) pain can pose significant costs for governments due to reduced work activity in these individuals and increasing reliance on public support benefits. In this analysis we capture the broader economic impact of OA pain by applying a government perspective, public economic framework to assess controlled and uncontrolled pain. We used a Markov model to compare labour market participation in people with uncontrolled OA hip or knee pain compared to a cohort with controlled OA pain.

Regulation of Nanog expression by phosphoinositide 3-kinase-dependent signaling in murine embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem (ES) cell pluripotency is regulated by a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Previously we have demonstrated that phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-dependent signaling is required for efficient self-renewal of murine ES cells. In the study presented here, we have investigated the downstream molecular mechanisms that contribute to the ability of PI3Ks to regulate pluripotency.