Short-Term Pain Outcomes and Pain Medication Utilization Among Urine Toxicology-Identified Opioid and Marijuana Users After Elective Spine Surgery.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Postoperative pain outcomes may be influenced by preoperative substance use, which is often underreported due to associated stigma. This study examined the impact of urine toxicology-identified preoperative opioid and marijuana use on pain outcomes after elective spinal surgery. METHODS: Patients undergoing elective spinal surgery between September 2020 and May 2022 were recruited for this prospective cohort study. Detailed chart review was completed to collect demographic, urine toxicology, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and pain medication data. Comparisons between self-reported and urine toxicology-identified substance use, preoperative/postoperative VAS ratings, and postoperative pain medication use were made using χ 2 tests, Student t -tests, and logistic regression, respectively. Models were adjusted for age, sex, and race. RESULTS: Among 111 participants (mean age 58 years, 59% female, 95% with ≥1 comorbidity), urine toxicology overestimated drug use (47% vs 16%, P < .001) and underestimated alcohol use (16% vs 56%, P < .001) at preoperative baseline relative to patient reports. Two weeks postoperatively, participants with preoperative opioid metabolites reported no significant improvements in pain from baseline (6.67 preoperative vs 5.92 postoperative, P = .288) unlike nonusers (6.56 preoperative vs 4.61 postoperative, P < .001). They also had worse postoperative VAS (5.92 vs 4.61, P = .030) and heavier reliance on opioid medications (odds ratio = 3.09, 95% CI = 1.21-7.89, P = .019). Conversely, participants with preoperative marijuana reported similar improvements in pain from baseline (users: 6.88 preoperative vs 4.36 postoperative, P = .001; nonusers: 6.49 preoperative vs 5.07 postoperative, P = .001), similar postoperative pain (4.36 vs 5.07, P = .238), and similar postoperative reliance on opioid medications (odds ratio = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.38-2.44, P = .928). Trends were maintained among the 83 patients who returned for the 3-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Although urine toxicology-identified preoperative opioid use was associated with poor postoperative pain relief and reliance on postoperative opioids for pain management after elective spinal surgery, preoperative marijuana use was not. Preoperative marijuana use, hence, should not delay or be a contraindication to elective spinal surgery.

Transition from Compounded to Monotherapy Intrathecal Pain Medication Reduces Drug Costs: Retrospective Analysis of Patient Billing Data.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain accounts for several hundred billion dollars in total treatment costs, and lost productivity annually. Selecting cost-effective pain treatments can reduce the financial burden on both individuals and society. Targeted drug delivery (TDD), whereby medications used to treat pain are delivered directly to the intrathecal space, remains an important treatment modality for chronic pain refractory to oral medication management. These medications can be administered alone (monotherapy), or in conjunction with other medications to give a synergistic affect (compounded therapy). While compounded therapy is often prescribed for pain refractory to both oral management and intrathecal monotherapy, compounded administration has not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is thought to be more expensive. In this study, we hypothesized that TDD delivering monotherapy vs compounded therapy would differ significantly in cost. OBJECTIVES: In 2015, a pharmacy-led initiative resulted in an institution-wide policy requiring that all TDD patients, being treated with compounded therapy, be transitioned to FDA-approved intrathecal monotherapy. The intent of this new policy was to eliminate use of non-FDA approved, "off-label" medications. During this transition, our practice used the opportunity to retrospectively analyze and compare the costs of monotherapy vs compounded therapy. STUDY DESIGN: Billing, drug dosing, and pain data were collected from 01/2015 to 01/2019, and reviewed retrospectively for patients originally on compounded intrathecal medication therapy, and compared before and after transition to monotherapy. SETTING: A multidisciplinary hospital-based spine center within an academic tertiary care facility. METHODS: Electronic medical records from the institutional TDD program were retrospectively reviewed to identify all patients on compounded drug therapy before the transition period (2015-2016). Patients were excluded from the study if they chose to switch their care to another practice rather than transitioning from compounded therapy to monotherapy. Cost per medications refill, cost per year, and reported pain scale before and after the transition were computed, and differences were compared using unpaired t tests. Refill costs of individual drugs were also compared. RESULTS: Of 46 patients originally on compounded therapy, 26 patients met inclusion criteria. The most common pre-transition drugs administered as compounded therapy were bupivacaine (n = 17), morphine (n = 15), and clonidine (n = 14), while hydromorphone (n = 10), baclofen (n = 5), and fentanyl (n = 1) were less common. There was a 51.3% decrease in cost per refill (P = 0.135) and a 50.0% decrease in cost per year (P = 0.283) after transition. Morphine and clonidine were both significantly more expensive than hydromorphone and bupivacaine (P < 0.05). After removing cases in which hydromorphone was the baseline opiate, there was a 64.8% decrease in cost per refill (P = 0.041) and a 66.8% decrease in cost per year (P = 0.190). There was no significant difference in the average reported pain scale across the transition (P = 0.323), suggesting stable pain management efficacy. LIMITATIONS: This retrospective study is limited by its small cohort size and lack of a control group. CONCLUSIONS: Based on single-institutional billing data, transition from compounded therapy to monotherapy TDD resulted in cost savings, dependent on the specific combination of drugs initially used for therapy. A larger multi-institutional study is indicated.

Proclaim™ DRG Neurostimulator System for the management of chronic, intractable pain.

Chronic pain is consistently listed as one of the most costly and disabling health problems worldwide. In an effort to treat these suffering individuals, significant amounts of time and energy have been devoted to discover safe and effective pain relieving treatments. Dorsal root ganglion stimulation is the newest treatment modality to be created for chronic intractable pain. In this manuscript, we review the history and development, published research and safety profile of the Proclaim™ DRG Neurostimulator System (Abbott, TX, USA). At last, we offer our outlook on future developments with dorsal root ganglion stimulation.