Epidemiology of Acute Respiratory Failure in US Children: Outcomes and Resource Use.

OBJECTIVE: Acute respiratory failure recalcitrant to conventional management often requires specialized organ-supportive technologies to optimize outcomes. Variation in the availability of these technologies prompted testing of the hypothesis that outcomes and resource use will vary by not only patient characteristics but also hospital characteristics and receipt of organ-supportive technology. METHODS: Retrospective study of children 0 to 20 years old hospitalized for acute respiratory failure using the 2019 Kids' Inpatient Database. Multivariable regression models identified factors associated with mortality, length of hospitalization, and costs. RESULTS: Of an estimated 75 365 hospitalizations nationally, 97% were to urban teaching hospitals, 57% were of children < 6 years, and 58% were of males. Complex chronic conditions (CCC) existed in 62%, multiorgan dysfunction in 35%, and extreme illness severity in 54%. Mortality was 7%, length of stay 15 days, and hospital costs $77 168. Elevated mortality was associated with cumulative organ dysfunction (odds ratio [OR]:2.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.22-2.42), CCC (OR: 5.49, 95% CI: 4.73-6.37), transfer, higher illness severity, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Lower mortality was associated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (OR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.28-0.47) and new tracheostomy (OR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.25-0.35). Longer hospitalization was associated with transfer, infancy, CCC, higher illness severity, cumulative organ dysfunction, and urban hospitals. Higher costs accrued with noninfants, cumulative organ dysfunction, private insurance, and urban teaching hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalizations for pediatric acute respiratory failure incurred substantial mortality and resource consumption. Efforts to reduce mortality and resource consumption should address interhospital transfer, access to organ-supportive technology, and drivers of higher severity-adjusted resource consumption at urban hospitals.

Cost-effectiveness of a motivational interviewing obesity intervention versus usual care in pediatric primary care offices.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of a 2-year motivational interviewing (MI) intervention versus usual primary care. METHODS: A national trial was implemented in the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) network of the American Academy of Pediatrics to evaluate MI versus usual care for children (2-8 years old; baseline BMI 85th-97th percentiles). Health care use, food costs, provider fees, and training costs were assessed, and sensitivity analyses were conducted. Primary outcome was the ICER, calculated as cost per unit change in BMI percentile for intervention versus usual care. RESULTS: At 2 years, 72% of enrolled parent/child dyads were retained; 312 children were included in the analysis. Mean BMI percentile point change was -4.9 and -1.8 for the intervention and control, respectively, yielding an incremental reduction of 3.1 BMI percentile points (95% CI: 1.2-5.0). The intervention cost $1051 per dyad ($658 for training DVD development). Incorporating health care and non-health care costs, the intervention ICER was $363 (range from sensitivity analyses: cost saving, $3159) per BMI percentile point decrease per participant over 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Training pediatricians, nurse practitioners, and registered dietitians to deliver MI-based interventions for childhood obesity in primary care is clinically effective and acceptably cost-effective. Future work should explore this approach in broader dissemination.

Health and economic outcomes of newborn screening for infantile-onset Pompe disease.

PURPOSE: To estimate health and economic outcomes associated with newborn screening (NBS) for infantile-onset Pompe disease in the United States. METHODS: A decision analytic microsimulation model simulated health and economic outcomes of a birth cohort of 4 million children in the United States. Universal NBS and treatment was compared with clinical identification and treatment of infantile-onset Pompe disease. Main outcomes were projected cases identified, costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) over the life course. RESULTS: Universal NBS for Pompe disease and confirmatory testing was estimated to cost an additional $26 million annually. Additional medication costs associated with earlier treatment initiation were $181 million; however, $8 million in medical care costs for other services were averted due to delayed disease progression. Infants with screened and treated infantile-onset Pompe disease experienced an average lifetime increase of 11.66 QALYs compared with clinical detection. The ICER was $379,000/QALY from a societal perspective and $408,000/QALY from the health-care perspective. Results were sensitive to the cost of enzyme replacement therapy. CONCLUSION: Newborn screening for Pompe disease results in substantial health gains for individuals with infantile-onset Pompe disease, but with additional costs.

Resource Use and Outcomes for Children Hospitalized With Severe Sepsis or Septic Shock.

OBJECTIVE: To describe patient and hospital characteristics associated with in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and charges for children with severe sepsis or septic shock who often require specialized organ-supportive technology to enhance outcomes, availability of which might vary across hospitals. DESIGN: Retrospective study among children hospitalized for severe sepsis or septic shock, using the 2012 Kids' Inpatient Database. Multivariate regression methods identified factors associated with mortality, LOS, and charges. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of an estimated 11 972 hospitalizations for pediatric severe sepsis or septic shock, most hospitalizations (85%) were to urban teaching hospitals. Hospitalizations were more frequent among neonates and older adolescents than other age groups. Mortality was 17%, average LOS was 24 days, and average hospital charges were US$314 950. Higher mortality was associated with neonates, cumulative organ dysfunction, more comorbidities, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Longer hospitalization and higher charges were associated with neonates, more comorbidities, higher illness severity, invasive medical technology, and urban hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to mitigate the substantial in-hospital mortality and resource use observed in pediatric severe sepsis or septic shock should be age-specific and focused on the influence of comorbidities and organ dysfunction on outcomes. Future research should elucidate reasons for higher resource use at urban hospitals.

Use of a choice survey to identify adult, adolescent and parent preferences for vaccination in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Adult and adolescent vaccination rates are far below coverage targets in the United States. Our objective was to identify the most influential factors related to vaccine uptake among adults, adolescents, and parents of adolescents (parents) in the United States. METHODS: We used a fractional factorial design to create a binary choice survey to evaluate preferences for vaccination. The national survey was fielded to a sample of adults, adolescents ages 13-17 years, and parents, using a national probability-based online research panel in November 2015. Respondents were presented with 5 profiles of a hypothetical vaccine and asked in a series of questions whether they would accept each vaccine. We analyzed the binary choice data using logistic regression in STATA v13 (College Station, TX) to calculate the odds that a participant would choose to accept the vaccine. RESULTS: We received completed responses from 334 (51%) of 652 adults, 316 (21%) of 1516 adolescents, and 339 (33%) of 1030 parents. Respondents were generally representative of the U.S. POPULATION: Vaccine effectiveness was the most influential factor in the choice to vaccinate for all groups. Other most influential factors were primary care provider (PCP) recommendation and the out-of-pocket cost of the vaccine. Other factors such as risk of illness, risk of vaccine side effects, vaccination location, and time for vaccination were not important in the decision to get vaccinated. CONCLUSIONS: Adults, adolescents, and parents are most sensitive to vaccine effectiveness, PCP recommendation, and out-of-pocket cost for vaccination in their decision to get vaccinated. Strong PCP recommendations that focus on vaccine effectiveness and health care policies that minimize out-of-pocket costs for vaccinations may increase vaccine uptake by adults and adolescents.

Transfer hospitalizations for pediatric severe sepsis or septic shock: resource use and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a major cause of child mortality and morbidity. To enhance outcomes, children with severe sepsis or septic shock often require escalated care for organ support, sometimes necessitating interhospital transfer. The association between transfer admission for the care of pediatric severe sepsis or septic shock and in-hospital patient survival and resource use is poorly understood. METHODS: Retrospective study of children 0-20 years old hospitalized for severe sepsis or septic shock, using the 2012 Kids' Inpatient Database. After descriptive and bivariate analysis, multivariate regression methods assessed the independent relationship between transfer status and outcomes of in-hospital mortality, duration of hospitalization, and hospital charges, after adjustment for potential confounders including illness severity. RESULTS: Of an estimated 11,922 hospitalizations (with transfer information) for pediatric severe sepsis and septic shock nationally in 2012, 25% were transferred, most often to urban teaching hospitals. Compared to non-transferred children, transferred children were younger, and had a higher frequency of extreme illness severity (84% vs. 75%, p < .01), and of multiple organ dysfunction (32% vs. 24%, p < .01). They also had higher use of invasive medical devices including arterial catheters, invasive mechanical ventilation, and central venous catheters; and of specialized technology, including renal replacement therapy (6.2% vs. 4.6%, p < .01) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (5.7% vs. 1.8%, p < .01). Transferred children had longer hospitalization and accrued higher charges than non-transferred children (p < .01). Crude mortality was higher among transferred than non-transferred children (21.4% vs.15.0%, p < .01), a difference no longer statistically significant after multivariate adjustment for potential confounders (Odds Ratio:1.04, 95% Confidence interval: 0.88-1.24). Similarly, adjusted length of hospital stay and hospital charges were not statistically different by transfer status. CONCLUSION: One in four children with severe sepsis or septic shock required interhospital transfer for specialized care associated with greater use of invasive medical devices and specialized technology. Despite higher crude mortality and resource consumption among transferred children, adjusted mortality and resource use did not differ by transfer status. Further research should identify quality-of-care factors at the receiving hospitals that influence clinical outcomes and resource use.

Research priorities of people living with Turner syndrome.

Despite major discoveries, traditional biomedical research has not always addressed topics perceived as priorities by patients and their families. Patient-centered care is predicated on research taking such priorities into account. The present study surveyed women with Turner syndrome (TS; 18+ years; n = 543), parents of women with TS (n = 232), and parents of younger daughters with TS (<18 years; n = 563), regarding their priorities for research. The study also included a quantitative audit of research categorized as either predominantly biomedical or psychological in the medical and other scientific literature. The overwhelming majority of all surveyed stakeholders (84% and higher) rated both biomedical and psychological research in TS as "very important," yet only approximately 9% of published research focused on psychological aspects of TS. The odds of women with TS identifying psychological research as "most important" was significantly lower (OR: 0.607; 95% CI: 0.375, 0.982] than the odds of parents making the same prioritization. Despite the majority of participants rating research as very important, only approximately half-rated participation in research as similarly important. The majority of respondents in all three groups (59%-73%) indicated they would "very likely" participate in research pertaining to eating or nutrition, quality of life, or genetic studies in TS. Substantially fewer expressed similar eagerness to participate in studies involving the study of a new medicine or medical device. Increased engagement of patient and family stakeholders in research requires that investigators select topics of study important to that community.

Association of abdominal muscle composition with prediabetes and diabetes: The CARDIA study.

AIM: To evaluate the relationship of abdominal muscle lean tissue and adipose tissue volumes with prediabetes and diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We measured abdominal muscle composition in 3170 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study who underwent computed tomography (CT) at Year 25 of follow-up (ages, 43-55 years). Multinomial regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations of CT-measured intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT), lean muscle tissue (lean) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volumes with diabetes at any point during the CARDIA study, newly detected prediabetes, prior history of prediabetes, and normal glucose tolerance. Models were adjusted for potential confounding factors: age, sex, race, height, smoking status, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, cardiorespiratory fitness and study centre. RESULTS: Higher IMAT, lean and VAT volumes were all separately associated with a higher prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes. Inclusion of VAT volume in models with both IMAT volume and lean volume attenuated the association of IMAT with both prediabetes and diabetes, but higher lean volume retained its association with prediabetes and diabetes. Individuals in the highest IMAT quartile, coupled with VAT in its lower three quartiles, had a higher prevalence of diabetes, but not of prediabetes, than those with both IMAT and VAT in their respective lower three quartiles. Adjusting for cardiorespiratory fitness did not substantially change the findings. CONCLUSION: Higher IMAT volume was associated with a higher prevalence of diabetes even after adjustment for VAT volume. However, further study is warranted to understand the complicated relationship between abdominal muscle and adipose tissues.

Motivations for Participation in an Online Social Media Community for Diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Our objectives were to describe individuals' motivations for participation in an online social media community and to assess their level of trust in medical information provided by medical professionals and community members. METHODS: A purposive survey was delivered to participants recruited through posts on the CGM in the Cloud group, Twitter, and blogs. Individuals were asked a series of demographic and social media use questions. RESULTS: A total of 1268 members of the CGM in the Cloud community responded to the survey. The majority were non-Hispanic White (92.1%) and caregivers of an individual with diabetes (80.9%). Mean age was 41 years old, and 74.8% were female. Primary goals of the Facebook group were to learn more about Nightscout technology and to receive technological assistance. Individuals provided assistance to the community through spreading awareness, technical assistance, support, and donation. Respondents put a high level of trust in their peers versus health professionals in many health situations with nearly 40% of individuals reported to be helped by following advice found in the Facebook group, and 99% reported no harm. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that patients with diabetes and their caregivers use social media for many health-related purposes including medical recommendations and technical support for medical devices and systems as well as emotional support.

The relationship between adiposity and bone density in U.S. children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: In adults, obesity has been associated with several health outcomes including increased bone density. Our objective was to evaluate the association between percent body fat and fat mass with bone mineral density (BMD) in a nationally representative population of children and adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 8,348 participants 8-18 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2006 had whole body DXA scans performed. We conducted linear regressions to examine the relationship between percent body fat and fat mass with outcome variables of total body, pelvic and lumbar spine areal BMD (aBMD), controlling for lean body mass and assessing for gender and race/ethnicity interactions. RESULTS: We found evidence of gender and race/ethnicity interactions with percent body fat and total fat mass for the different BMD areas. Generally, there were decreases in total body aBMD (p<0.001) and lumbar spine aBMD (p<0.001) with increasing percent body fat and total fat mass, with less consistent patterns for pelvic aBMD. CONCLUSION: Our findings of regional differences in the relationship of adiposity to aBMD in children and adolescents with significant interactions by gender and race/ethnicity emphasizes the need for further investigations to understand the impact of adiposity on bone health outcomes.

Real-World Use and Self-Reported Health Outcomes of a Patient-Designed Do-it-Yourself Mobile Technology System for Diabetes: Lessons for Mobile Health.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to compare demographic/disease characteristics of users versus nonusers of a do-it-yourself (DIY) mobile technology system for diabetes (Nightscout), to describe its uses and personalization, and to evaluate associated changes in health behaviors and outcomes. METHODS: A cross-sectional, household-level online survey was used. Of 1268 household respondents who were members of the CGM in the Cloud Facebook group, there were 1157 individuals with diabetes who provided information about Nightscout use. RESULTS: The majority of individuals with diabetes in the household sample were 6-12 years old (followed by 18 years and above, and 13-17 years), non-Hispanic whites (90.2%), with type 1 diabetes (99.4%). The majority used an insulin pump (85.6%) and CGM (97.0%) and had private health insurance (83.8%). Nightscout use was more prevalent among children compared with adolescents and adults. Children used Nightscout for nighttime, school, sporting events, and travel; adults used it for nighttime, work, travel, and sporting events. Whereas the majority of adults viewed their own data without assistance from others, among pediatric users, a median of three individuals (range: 0-8) viewed Nightscout, with a median of three devices per viewer (range: 0-7). Individuals reported that after Nightscout adoption, they checked blood glucose values with a meter less often; bolused more frequently; gave more boluses without checking first with a blood glucose meter; and experienced significant improvements in HbA1c and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The Nightscout Project is a patient-driven mobile technology for health and may have beneficial effects on glycemic control and quality of life.

Joint Utility Estimators in Substance Use Disorders.

BACKGROUND: Although co-occurring conditions are common with substance use disorders (SUDs), estimation methods for joint health state utilities have not yet been tested in this context. OBJECTIVES: To compare joint health state utility estimators in SUD to inform economic evaluation. METHODS: We conducted two Internet-based surveys of US adults to collect community perspective standard gamble utilities for SUD and common co-occurring conditions. We evaluated six conditions as they occur individually and four combinations of these as they occur in tandem. We applied joint utility estimators using the six individual conditions' utilities to compare their performance relative to the observed combination states' utilities. We assessed performance with bias (estimated utility minus observed utility) and root mean square error (RMSE). RESULTS: Using 3892 utilities from 1502 respondents, the minimum estimator was statistically unbiased (i.e., the 95% confidence interval included 0) for all combination states that we measured. The maximum estimator was unbiased for two states and the linear index and adjusted decrement estimators were unbiased for one state. The maximum estimator had the smallest RMSE for two combination states (back pain and prescription opioid misuse [0.0004] and injection crack and injection opioid use [0.0007]); the linear index and minimum estimators had the smallest RMSE for one combination state each. The additive and multiplicative estimators had the largest RMSE for all states. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate the usefulness of the minimum estimator in this context, and confirm the inadequacy of the additive and multiplicative estimators. Further research is needed to extend these results to other SUD states.

Influence of Obesity Diagnosis With Organ Dysfunction, Mortality, and Resource Use Among Children Hospitalized With Infection in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis induces inflammation in response to infection and is a major cause of mortality and hospitalization in children. Obesity induces chronic inflammation leading to many clinical manifestations. Our understanding of the impact of obesity on diseases, such as infection and sepsis, is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of obesity with organ dysfunction, mortality, duration, and charges during among US children hospitalized with infection. METHODS: Retrospective study of hospitalizations in children with infection aged 0 to 20 years, using the 2009 Kids' Inpatient Database. RESULTS: Of 3.4 million hospitalizations, 357 701 were for infection, 5685 of which were reported as obese children. Obese patients had higher rates of organ dysfunction (7.35% vs 5.5%, P < .01), longer hospital stays (4.1 vs 3.5 days, P < .001), and accrued higher charges (US$29 019 vs US$21 200, P < .001). In multivariable analysis, mortality did not differ by obesity status (odds ratio: 0.56, 95% confidence interval: 0.23-1.34), however severity of illness modified the association between obesity status and the other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: While there was no difference in in-hospital mortality by obesity diagnosis, variation in organ dysfunction, hospital stay, and hospital charges according to obesity status was mediated by illness severity. Findings from this study have significant implications for targeted approaches to mitigate the burden of obesity on infection and sepsis.

Can longitudinal generalized estimating equation models distinguish network influence and homophily? An agent-based modeling approach to measurement characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Connected individuals (or nodes) in a network are more likely to be similar than two randomly selected nodes due to homophily and/or network influence. Distinguishing between these two influences is an important goal in network analysis, and generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses of longitudinal dyadic network data are an attractive approach. It is not known to what extent such regressions can accurately extract underlying data generating processes. Therefore our primary objective is to determine to what extent, and under what conditions, does the GEE-approach recreate the actual dynamics in an agent-based model. METHODS: We generated simulated cohorts with pre-specified network characteristics and attachments in both static and dynamic networks, and we varied the presence of homophily and network influence. We then used statistical regression and examined the GEE model performance in each cohort to determine whether the model was able to detect the presence of homophily and network influence. RESULTS: In cohorts with both static and dynamic networks, we find that the GEE models have excellent sensitivity and reasonable specificity for determining the presence or absence of network influence, but little ability to distinguish whether or not homophily is present. CONCLUSIONS: The GEE models are a valuable tool to examine for the presence of network influence in longitudinal data, but are quite limited with respect to homophily.

Development and Validation of the Neonatal Risk Estimate Score for Children Using Extracorporeal Respiratory Support.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate the Neonatal Risk Estimate Score for Children Using Extracorporeal Respiratory Support, which estimates the risk of in-hospital death for neonates prior to receiving respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. STUDY DESIGN: We used an international ECMO registry (2008-2013); neonates receiving ECMO for respiratory support were included. We divided the registry into a derivation sample and internal validation sample, by calendar date. We chose candidate variables a priori based on published evidence of association with mortality; variables independently associated with mortality in logistic regression were included in this parsimonious model of risk adjustment. We evaluated model discrimination with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and we evaluated calibration with the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. RESULTS: During 2008-2013, 4592 neonates received ECMO respiratory support with mortality of 31%. The development dataset contained 3139 patients treated in 2008-2011. The Neo-RESCUERS measure had an AUC of 0.78 (95% CI 0.76-0.79). The validation cohort had an AUC = 0.77 (0.75-0.80). Patients in the lowest risk decile had an observed mortality of 7.0% and a predicted mortality of 4.4%, and those in the highest risk decile had an observed mortality of 65.6% and a predicted mortality of 67.5%. CONCLUSIONS: Neonatal Risk Estimate Score for Children Using Extracorporeal Respiratory Support offers severity-of-illness adjustment for neonatal patients with respiratory failure receiving ECMO. This score may be used to adjust patient survival to assess hospital-level performance in ECMO-based care.

Variation in patterns of hospitalization and associated resource use among children with spinal cord injury in the U.S.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among children in the U.S. There is paucity of data on the triage of children with spinal cord injury (SCI) to definitive trauma care, and it is unknown if clinical outcomes and resource utilization for children hospitalized with SCI vary according to the settings where trauma care is provided. The study was conducted to describe recent patterns of emergency department (ED) evaluation for paediatric SCI in the U.S., and to characterize outcomes and resource use for children hospitalized at non-trauma centres versus trauma centres. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Secondary analysis of a national database on injured children 0-20 years evaluated at U.S. EDs and either hospitalized or released, in 2009-2012. In-hospital mortality, duration of stay, and overall charges, were compared according to trauma centre status of the treating hospital. RESULTS: Of an estimated 67 million annual paediatric visits to the ED for trauma evaluation nationally in 2009-2012, 2317 had SCI. Majority (87%) of children evaluated for SCI were under 6 years of age, and boys comprised 73% of the visits. Injuries were caused mainly by motor vehicle accidents, falls, non-transport-related accidents, and firearms. The South census region had the most ED visits and hospitalizations. Majority (92%) of the most severely injured was evaluated at trauma centres, and more visits to trauma centres (81% vs. 18%, p=0.022) resulted in hospitalization. Among an estimated 1570 hospitalizations of children with SCI from the ED nationally, children at trauma centres were more likely to have major injuries (67% vs. 44%, p=0.001), similar mortality, longer average hospital stay, and higher charges, compared with children hospitalized at non-trauma centres. CONCLUSION: Significant demographic and geographical variation exists in national patterns of hospital care for paediatric SCI. Higher severity of patient injury was associated with concomitantly higher hospital resource use at trauma centres.

Timing of Puberty in Overweight Versus Obese Boys.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Studies of the relationship of weight status with timing of puberty in boys have been mixed. This study examined whether overweight and obesity are associated with differences in the timing of puberty in US boys. METHODS: We reanalyzed recent community-based pubertal data from the American Academy of Pediatrics' Pediatric Research in Office Settings study in which trained clinicians assessed boys 6 to 16 years for height, weight, Tanner stages, testicular volume (TV), and other pubertal variables. We classified children based on BMI as normal weight, overweight, or obese and compared median age at a given Tanner stage or greater by weight class using probit and ordinal probit models and a Bayesian approach. RESULTS: Half of boys (49.9%, n = 1931) were white, 25.8% (n = 1000) were African American, and 24.3% (n = 941) were Hispanic. For genital development in white and African American boys across a variety of Tanner stages, we found earlier puberty in overweight compared with normal weight boys, and later puberty in obese compared with overweight, but no significant differences for Hispanics. For TV (≥3 mL or ≥4 mL), our findings support earlier puberty for overweight compared with normal weight white boys. CONCLUSIONS: In a large, racially diverse, community-based sample of US boys, we found evidence of earlier puberty for overweight compared with normal or obese, and later puberty for obese boys compared with normal and overweight boys. Additional studies are needed to understand the possible relationships among race/ethnicity, gender, BMI, and the timing of pubertal development.

Measuring benefits of opioid misuse treatment for economic evaluation: health-related quality of life of opioid-dependent individuals and their spouses as assessed by a sample of the US population.

AIMS: To understand how the general public views the quality of life effects of opioid misuse and opioid use disorder on an individual and his/her spouse, measured in terms used in economic evaluations. DESIGN: Cross-sectional internet survey of a US population-representative respondent panel conducted December 2013-January 2014. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2054 randomly selected adults; 51.1% male (before weighting). MEASUREMENTS: Mean (95% confidence interval) and median health 'utility' for six opioid misuse and treatment outcomes: active injection misuse; active prescription misuse; methadone maintenance therapy at initiation and when stabilized in treatment; and buprenorphine therapy at initiation and when stabilized. Utility is a numerical representation of health-related quality of life used in economic evaluations to 'adjust' estimated survival to include peoples' preferences for health states. Utilities are determined by surveying the general population to estimate the value they assign to particular health states on a scale where 0 = the value of being dead and 1.0 = the value of being in perfect health. Spouse spillover utility is assigned to a spouse of an individual who is in a particular health state. FINDINGS: Mean individual utility ranged from 0.574 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.538, 0.611] for active injection opioid misuse to 0.766 for stabilized buprenorphine therapy (95% CI = 0.738, 0.795), with other states in between. Female respondents assigned higher utility to the active prescription misuse and buprenorphine therapy at initiation states than did males (P < 0.05); all other states did not differ by respondent gender. Mean spousal utilities were significantly lower than 1.0 but mostly higher than individual utility, and were similar between male and female respondents. CONCLUSIONS: In the opinion of the US public, injection opioid misuse results in worse health-related quality of life than prescription misuse, and methadone therapy results in worse health-related quality of life than buprenorphine therapy. Spouses are negatively affected by their partner's opioid misuse and early treatment.