Healthcare Use Patterns and Economic Burden of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Children before Diagnosis.

Objectives: To evaluate the healthcare use and costs of amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome (AMPS) in children before diagnosis.

Study Design: We performed a retrospective study in children with AMPS at a pediatric rheumatology clinic between 2010 and 2014. Data were abstracted on 80 patients after primary rheumatic diseases were excluded. Healthcare visits, medications and diagnostic testing that occurred in the years before diagnosis were collected. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey was used to estimate visit costs.

Results: Patients were adolescent females (89%) and white (86%). The median time to diagnosis was 10.2 months. The median pain score was 6.5 and the median Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire score was 1.1. In this cohort, 29% had at least 1 ED visit and 5% were hospitalized. All patients saw a rheumatologist and 41% had visited another specialist, typically orthopedics and sports medicine. More than one-half had at least 1 radiographic study and 21% had at least 1 magnetic resonance imaging. The total cost for office, emergency department, and hospital visits for AMPS in all 80 patients was $152 853. The mean cost per patient over the entire study period (2008-2014) was $1911 ± $3808, and 43% of costs were outpatient visits.

Conclusions: Children with AMPS have high levels of disability and take a long time to be diagnosed. As a result, even before diagnosis, they have high levels of healthcare use, diagnostic testing, and medical costs. Early recognition of disability and quicker referral to trained subspecialists may improve the prognosis, reduce unnecessary testing, and reduce the overall costs of healthcare.