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BackgroundTibia shaft fractures (TSF) are common for men and women and cause substantial morbidity, healthcare use, and costs. The impact of nonunions on healthcare use and costs is poorly described. Our goal was to investigate patient characteristics and healthcare use and costs associated with TSF in patients with and without nonunion.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed medical claims in large U.S. managed care claims databases (Thomson Reuters MarketScan®, 16 million lives). We studied patients ≥ 18 years old with a TSF diagnosis (ICD-9 codes: 823.20, 823.22, 823.30, 823.32) in 2006 with continuous pharmaceutical and medical benefit enrollment 1 year prior and 2 years post-fracture. Nonunion was defined by ICD-9 code 733.82 (after the TSF date).ResultsAmong the 853 patients with TSF, 99 (12%) had nonunion. Patients with nonunion had more comorbidities (30 vs. 21, pre-fracture) and were more likely to have their TSF open (87% vs. 70%) than those without nonunion. Patients with nonunion were more likely to have additional fractures during the 2-year follow-up (of lower limb [88.9% vs. 69.5%, P < 0.001], spine or trunk [16.2% vs. 7.2%, P = 0.002], and skull [5.1% vs. 1.3%, P = 0.008]) than those without nonunion. Nonunion patients were more likely to use various types of surgical care, inpatient care (tibia and non-tibia related: 65% vs. 40%, P < 0.001) and outpatient physical therapy (tibia-related: 60% vs. 42%, P < 0.001) than those without nonunion. All categories of care (except emergency room costs) were more expensive in nonunion patients than in those without nonunion: median total care cost $25,556 vs. $11,686, P < 0.001. Nonunion patients were much more likely to be prescribed pain medications (99% vs. 92%, P = 0.009), especially strong opioids (90% vs. 76.4%, P = 0.002) and had longer length of opioid therapy (5.4 months vs. 2.8 months, P < 0.001) than patients without nonunion. Tibia fracture patterns in men differed from those in women.ConclusionsNonunions in TSF’s are associated with substantial healthcare resource use, common use of strong opioids, and high per-patient costs. Open fractures are associated with higher likelihood of nonunion than closed ones. Effective screening of nonunion risk may decrease this morbidity and subsequent healthcare resource use and costs.

Background: Few direct head-to-head comparisons have been conducted between drugs for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP). Approved or recommended drugs in this indication include duloxetine (DLX), pregabalin (PGB), gabapentin (GBP) and amitriptyline (AMT). We conducted an indirect meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and tolerability of DLX with PGB and GBP in DPNP, using placebo as a common comparator.

This review of DPNP identifies gaps in the literature and highlights the need for further study. The establishment of a consistent definition and diagnostic code for DPNP would improve ability to collect data and understand the impact of DPNP on patients and the health care system. Well-designed, prospective studies are needed to better define the epidemiology and public health burden of DPNP.

Prevalence estimates varied, possibly owing to differences in diagnostic criteria and populations studied. Little is known about CLBP's economic burden. Treatment guidelines recommended multimodal treatment.

BackgroundIndividuals with pain often present with more than one painful condition. The purpose of this study was to characterize the rates of comorbidity, pain medication use, and health care costs for 23 selected pain conditions in a large health plan using administrative claims data from 2005 to 2007.MethodsEligible patients included 1,211,483 adults with at least one pain condition during the one-year study period. Pain condition cohorts were classified based on the first diagnosis present in the claims during the study period.ResultsMusculoskeletal pain conditions were among the most prevalent cohorts including low back pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia. Cancer pain was the least prevalent cohort. Conditions with the lowest illness severity included migraine and painful bladder syndrome cohorts, while cohorts with diabetic neuropathy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated pain, and cancer pain were the most severe. Across cohorts, the mean number of comorbid pain conditions ranged from 1.39 (for cancer pain and migraine) to 2.65 (for multiple sclerosis pain). High rates of mental health conditions were found in cohorts with HIV-associated pain and multiple sclerosis pain (42.59% and 34.78%) and were lowest among cohorts with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthropathy (12.73% and 13.31%), respectively. Rates of sleep disorders ranged from 5.47% (for painful bladder syndrome) to 11.59% (for multiple sclerosis pain). Overall, patients averaged 3.53 unique pain medications during the study period. Considerable annual total health care costs were observed in the cancer pain cohort and the lowest costs were observed in the postherpetic neuropathy, surgically-induced pain, migraine, and irritable bowel syndrome cohorts. Costs attributed to pain were highest among the multiple sclerosis, HIV, and cancer pain cohorts. The highest pharmaceutical costs were observed in the HIV cohort.ConclusionThese findings underscore the heterogeneity of patients with pain in terms of burden of illness, costs to the health care system, and the complexity of commonly co-occurring disorders.

Systemic treatment patterns for advanced or recurrent NSCLC in Japan were varied. Nearly 30% of all patients and approximately half of elderly patients did not receive systemic treatment. Treatment rates declined with subsequent therapeutic lines. Generally, guidelines were followed with first-line treatment administration, but not with second-line administration. These results underscore the need for better guideline adherence and more optimal treatment in and elderly patients and in those receiving later-line treatment in Japan.

We compared real-world data from US patients who received second-line (2L) therapy for nonesmall-cell lung cancer before ("historical") and after ("current") US Food and Drug Administration approval of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors. A greater proportion of patients received 2L therapy in the current compared with the historical setting; approximately half of current patients received 2L PD-L1 inhibitors. Survival was improved by 15% in the current setting. Background: The real-world effect of anti-programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapies is unclear. We compared US patients who received second-line therapy for nonesmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) before and shortly after US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of PD-L1 inhibitors. Patients and Methods: Patients in the Flatiron Health database (18 years; received first-line platinum therapy for advanced/metastatic NSCLC; 6 months of follow-up) were assessed before ("historical":