TY - JOUR
T1 - Chronic Pain Treatment and Health Service Utilization of Veterans with Hepatitis C Virus Infection
AU - Lovejoy, Travis I.
AU - Dobscha, Steven K.
AU - Cavanagh, Renee
AU - Turk, Dennis C.
AU - Morasco, Benjamin J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Conflict of interest and acknowledgment of support: No author reports having any financial or other potential conflict of interest with this study. This study was supported in part by award K23DA023467 from the United States National Institute on Drug Abuse to Dr. Morasco.
Funding Information:
This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Portland VA Medical Center. This study was supported in part by award K23DA023467 from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse to Dr. Morasco. The authors appreciate the assistance of Jonathan Duckart, MPS, for extracting data from the electronic medical record. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Objectives. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is estimated to affect 2% of the general U.S. population and chronic pain is a common comorbidity among persons with HCV. The primary purpose of this study was to compare health service utilization of U.S. military veterans with HCV with and without the presence of comorbid chronic pain. Design. Cross-sectional study with retrospective review of patient medical records. Patients. One hundred seventy-one U.S. military veterans with confirmed HCV, recruited through a single U.S. Veterans Administration hospital. Outcome Measures. Medical service utilization data from the past 5 years were extracted from participants' electronic medical records. Results. Sixty-four percent of veterans with HCV (N=110) had chronic pain. Veterans with HCV and chronic pain utilized more health services including total inpatient stays (odds ratio [OR]=2.58 [1.46, 4.56]) and days hospitalized for psychiatric services (OR=5.50 [3.37, 8.99]), compared to participants with HCV and no chronic pain, after statistically adjusting for demographic, psychiatric, substance use, medical comorbidity, and disability covariates. In addition, those with HCV and chronic pain had more total outpatient visits with primary care providers (OR=1.73 [1.15, 2.59]), physical therapists (OR=9.57 [4.79, 19.11]), and occupational therapists (OR=2.72 [1.00, 7.48]). Conclusions. Patients with HCV and chronic pain utilize medical services to a greater extent than patients with HCV but no chronic pain. Future studies that examine the efficacy of both pharmacological and nonpharmacological pain treatment for patients with comorbid HCV and chronic pain appear warranted.
AB - Objectives. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is estimated to affect 2% of the general U.S. population and chronic pain is a common comorbidity among persons with HCV. The primary purpose of this study was to compare health service utilization of U.S. military veterans with HCV with and without the presence of comorbid chronic pain. Design. Cross-sectional study with retrospective review of patient medical records. Patients. One hundred seventy-one U.S. military veterans with confirmed HCV, recruited through a single U.S. Veterans Administration hospital. Outcome Measures. Medical service utilization data from the past 5 years were extracted from participants' electronic medical records. Results. Sixty-four percent of veterans with HCV (N=110) had chronic pain. Veterans with HCV and chronic pain utilized more health services including total inpatient stays (odds ratio [OR]=2.58 [1.46, 4.56]) and days hospitalized for psychiatric services (OR=5.50 [3.37, 8.99]), compared to participants with HCV and no chronic pain, after statistically adjusting for demographic, psychiatric, substance use, medical comorbidity, and disability covariates. In addition, those with HCV and chronic pain had more total outpatient visits with primary care providers (OR=1.73 [1.15, 2.59]), physical therapists (OR=9.57 [4.79, 19.11]), and occupational therapists (OR=2.72 [1.00, 7.48]). Conclusions. Patients with HCV and chronic pain utilize medical services to a greater extent than patients with HCV but no chronic pain. Future studies that examine the efficacy of both pharmacological and nonpharmacological pain treatment for patients with comorbid HCV and chronic pain appear warranted.
KW - Chronic Pain
KW - Health Service Utilization
KW - Hepatitis C
KW - Veterans
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84869183989&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84869183989&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01476.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01476.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 22958315
AN - SCOPUS:84869183989
SN - 1526-2375
VL - 13
SP - 1407
EP - 1416
JO - Pain Medicine (United States)
JF - Pain Medicine (United States)
IS - 11
ER -