Evaluating chronic pain as a risk factor for COVID-19 complications among New York State Medicaid beneficiaries: a retrospective claims analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether chronic pain increases the risk of COVID-19 complications and whether opioid use disorder (OUD) differentiates this risk among New York State Medicaid beneficiaries. DESIGN, SETTING, AND SUBJECTS: This was a retrospective cohort study of New York State Medicaid claims data. We evaluated Medicaid claims from March 2019 through December 2020 to determine whether chronic pain increased the risk of COVID-19 emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and complications and whether this relationship differed by OUD status. We included beneficiaries 18-64 years of age with 10 months of prior enrollment. Patients with chronic pain were propensity score-matched to those without chronic pain on demographics, utilization, and comorbidities to control for confounders and were stratified by OUD. Complementary log-log regressions estimated hazard ratios (HRs) of COVID-19 ED visits and hospitalizations; logistic regressions estimated odds ratios (ORs) of hospital complications and readmissions within 0-30, 31-60, and 61-90 days. RESULTS: Among 773 880 adults, chronic pain was associated with greater hazards of COVID-related ED visits (HR = 1.22 [95% CI: 1.16-1.29]) and hospitalizations (HR = 1.19 [95% CI: 1.12-1.27]). Patients with chronic pain and OUD had even greater hazards of hospitalization (HR = 1.25 [95% CI: 1.07-1.47]) and increased odds of hepatic- and cardiac-related events (OR = 1.74 [95% CI: 1.10-2.74]). CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain increased the risk of COVID-19 ED visits and hospitalizations. Presence of OUD further increased the risk of COVID-19 hospitalizations and the odds of hepatic- and cardiac-related events. Results highlight intersecting risks among a vulnerable population and can inform tailored COVID-19 management.

Implementing Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Disparities in Utilization in an Urban Pain Medicine Practice.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a drastic expansion in utilizing telemedicine, circumventing some of the geographical barriers to accessing pain care. However, uncertainties around the impact of telemedicine across various sociodemographic groups still exist, prompting further exploration. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of sociodemographic factors in telemedicine utilization during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and methods: All outpatient non-procedural visits at the pain medicine division of a large academic institution in the epicenter of the pandemic (New York, USA), between March 2019 and October 2021, were retrospectively included. Sociodemographic data including gender, age, ethnicity/race, postal code, and type of health insurance, across three time periods associated with the COVID-19 pandemic - pre-lockdown (in-office visits only), lockdown (telemedicine visits only) and post-lockdown (offering both in-office and telemedicine visits) - were analyzed and compared. Results: In total, 12,615 unique patients - The majority being women (58%) - were seen during the whole study period. In the post-lockdown period, telemedicine was utilized by 42% of all patients. Follow-up visits, younger patients, white patients, patients residing further away from the hospital, and privately insured patients were more likely to utilize telemedicine post-lockdown (p <0.05). Older patients, minorities, Manhattan residents, and Medicare/Medicaid recipients, were more likely to use in-office visits post-lockdown (p <0.05). Conclusion: We identified disparities in the utilization of telemedicine in Pain Medicine, which may be due to socioeconomic factors such as lack of access to reliable internet access, cost of devices, and technological know-how. This emphasizes the need for further studies to better understand the reasons for and barriers to telemedicine use. This could help inform policymaking to safeguard equitable access to telemedicine use for pain care.

Preoperative Assessment and Management of Patients with Pain and Anxiety Disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review summarizes selected recent evidence on issues important for preoperative pain evaluation. RECENT FINDINGS: Opioids, though a mainstay of postoperative pain management, are associated with both short and increasingly recognized long-term risks, including persistent opioid use. Risk factors for high levels of acute postoperative pain as well as chronic postsurgical pain may overlap, including psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, and catastrophizing. Tools to predict those at risk for poor postoperative pain outcomes are being studied. SUMMARY: Preoperative pain and psychological factors can affect postoperative pain outcomes. More work is needed in the future to develop practical interventions in the preoperative period to address these factors.