Healthcare Resource Use for Pain Management in Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
Author Information
Author(s): Dziadzko Mikhail, Belhassen Manon, Van Ganse Eric, Marant-Micallef Claire, Martinez Valeria, Aubrun Frederic, Pugliese Francesco, Alessandri Francesco, Giordano Giovanni
Primary Institution: Département d’Anesthésie-Réanimation, Douleur, Hôpital de la Croix Rousse, Hospices Civils de Lyon, France
Hypothesis
Analyzing changes in healthcare resource utilization may help identify new patterns of chronic pain related to PACS.
Conclusion
Non-specific increases in healthcare resource utilization for pain management were found following COVID-19 hospitalization, likely due to disease severity and ICU care rather than PACS-related chronic pain.
Supporting Evidence
- Chronic pain affects 11-60% of patients with Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome.
- Significant increases in healthcare resource utilization were observed for ICU survivors.
- Dispensing of strong opioids and antiepileptics increased post-COVID hospitalization.
- Hospitalizations for chronic pain also increased after COVID-19 discharge.
Takeaway
After recovering from COVID-19, many people needed more help for pain, but it wasn't clear if this was because of COVID-19 itself.
Methodology
The study analyzed healthcare resource utilization among 68,822 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 during the first pandemic wave, comparing data from six months before and after hospitalization.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the exclusion of patients with milder COVID-19 cases and reliance on ICD codes for data collection.
Limitations
The study focused only on hospitalized patients, omitting those with milder cases, and lacked data on over-the-counter medication use.
Participant Demographics
The median age was 66 years, with 47% being women.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
95% confidence interval for PP-Ratio Rates.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website