Relationship of American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale Grade to Post-injury Hospitalization and Costs in Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury.

Background: The lifetime economic burden of thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI) is known to be high, but evidence of variability of costs in relation to the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grade is limited.

Objective: To estimate lifetime economic costs of hospitalization by AIS grade in thoracic SCI.

Methods: Using SCI Model Systems data from January 2000 to March 2016 from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, we estimated mean total annual days of all-cause hospitalization by AIS grade among persons with thoracic SCI, based on assessments 1, 5, and 10 yr post-injury.

Patterns of healthcare utilization and cost in patients with newly diagnosed fibromyalgia.

Objectives: To compare healthcare utilization and costs in the year preceding and following initial diagnosis of fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: Using a large US health insurance claims database, we identified all persons with newly diagnosed FM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code 729.1) between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2005 ("FM patients").

How do changes in pain severity levels correspond to changes in health status and function in patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy?

The current analysis compares changes in pain with changes in function and health status in individuals with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). The post hoc analysis is based on a 12week, multinational, placebo-controlled trial of pregabalin in which 401 patients were randomized to treatment. Study measures included the Brief Pain Inventory short-form (BPI-sf), EQ-5D and other patient-reported outcomes.

The economic burden of fibromyalgia: comparative analysis with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To quantify and compare direct costs, utilization, and the rate of comorbidities in a sample of patients with fibromyalgia (FM), a poorly understood illness associated with chronic widespread pain that is commonly treated by rheumatologists, to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a well studied rheumatologic illness associated with inflammatory joint pain. Patients with both illnesses were isolated and reported as a third group. A secondary analysis of work loss was performed for an employed subset of these patients.

Human and economic burden of generalized anxiety disorder.

The goal of the current work is to provide a comprehensive review and interpretation of the literature on the human and economic burden of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and how it compares with that of other mental disorders. The term "human burden" is used to describe quantified impairments in role functioning and quality of life (QOL). "Economic burden" describes costs related to health care resource utilization and lost work.

Use of tricyclic antidepressants in older patients with painful neuropathies.

Objective: To describe patterns of use of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) (e.g., amitriptyline, nortriptyline) in older patients with painful neuropathies.

The burden of neuropathic pain: results from a cross-sectional survey.

Background: There are few published data on the treatment patterns and burden of neuropathic pain. We have investigated this in a large, observational, cross-sectional survey.

Methods: We surveyed 602 patients with neuropathic pain recruited from general practitioners in six European countries.

Clinical characteristics and economic costs of patients with painful neuropathic disorders.

Unlabelled: Using a large US health insurance claims database, we identified all persons aged 18 years or older with 2 or more medical encounters in calendar year 2000 for painful neuropathic disorders (PNDs). We also identified an age- and gender-matched group of patients without PNDs (matched control subjects). We then compared the clinical characteristics and economic costs of PND patients with those of matched control subjects.

Development of a metric for a day of manageable pain control: derivation of pain severity cut-points for low back pain and osteoarthritis.

The objective of this study was to adapt the concept of 'episode-free day', a metric for measuring symptom relief in daily units, to the clinical outcome literature for persistent pain. The episode-free day metric is widely used in other medical literature, but no analogous measure exists in pain literature. Prior focus groups with this population suggested that a 'Day of Manageable Pain Control' was an appropriate name for the metric.