Abstract | PURPOSE: To analyze the effect of pregabalin ( PGB) on pain relief, longitudinal utilization of health and nonhealth resources and derived costs in patients with refractory painful radiculopathy under routine medical practice in primary care settings (PCS). METHODS: Subjects over 18 years of age with painful radiculopathy (cervical/lumbar) refractory to at least one previous analgesic therapy were included in a prospective, naturalistic, 12-week study. Consumption of resources included both health-care and nonhealth-care resources. Pain severity was measured using the Short Form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. RESULTS: One thousand three hundred and four PGB-naive patients (55.8% women, 56.7 [12.9] years) were analyzed: 473 (36%) switched to monotherapy with PGB (PGBm), 676 (52%) received add-on therapy with PGB (PGBadd-on), and in 155 patients (12%) the previous treatment was replaced by a schedule not including PGB (non- PGB). As compared with the non- PGB, both PGBm and PGBadd-on schedules showed a significantly greater reduction of pain severity (36.1%, 56.1%, and 49.6% reductions, respectively, P < 0.001 between groups) and consumption of resources. Additional costs of drugs, particularly in the PGB subgroups (euro15.4, euro148.6 and euro145.3, respectively, P < 0.001) were offset by significantly greater reductions of all other components of health-care and nonhealth-care cost, thus resulting in a substantial reduction of total cost: euro1,203.3, euro1,423.2, and euro1,429.2, respectively (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In PCS, either PGBadd-on or PGBm under routine medical practice was associated with pain alleviation leading to significant longitudinal reductions in resource use and total costs compared with non- PGB- therapy in subjects with painful refractory cervical or lumbar radiculopathy.
|
Authors | María T Saldaña, Ana Navarro, Concepción Pérez, Xavier Masramón, Javier Rejas |
Journal | Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
(Pain Pract)
2010 Jan-Feb
Vol. 10
Issue 1
Pg. 31-41
ISSN: 1533-2500 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 20629966
(Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
|
Chemical References |
- Analgesics
- Pregabalin
- gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
|
Topics |
- Adult
- Aged
- Analgesics
(administration & dosage, economics)
- Female
- Health Care Costs
(statistics & numerical data)
- Health Services
(statistics & numerical data)
- Humans
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Outcome Assessment, Health Care
(economics, methods)
- Pain
(drug therapy, economics)
- Pain Measurement
(economics, statistics & numerical data)
- Practice Patterns, Physicians'
(economics, statistics & numerical data)
- Pregabalin
- Primary Health Care
(economics, statistics & numerical data)
- Prospective Studies
- Radiculopathy
(drug therapy, economics)
- Treatment Outcome
- gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
(administration & dosage, analogs & derivatives, economics)
|